Hidden is not merely a second step for this duo, but real deepening in a highly individual sound.

On Privateering, his seventh solo outing, Knopfler has crafted his most ambitious and pugnacious set to date.

If State Hospital is an indication of things to come, then Frightened Rabbit should have 2013's unremittingly bleak indie rock scene sewn up.

If Dark Dark Dark are one of many acts who seem to define the realm of vaguely quirky and slightly winsome indie rock of the 21st century, the lean of the performances tends toward the quietly contemplative above all else, however much in a band context.

Once again, probably not a highly sought-after sound, but then again, when an album is this well put together, who really cares?

Despite its brevity, the songs strike with such languid, metered force they manage to slow time down, stretching an EP's worth of darkly ambient dream pop into a deceptively epic micro-journey.

If this isn't the album of the year, it's at least the art-pop album of the year, or the neo-sophisti-pop album of the year, or--beside Frank Ocean's Channel Orange--the alternative R&B album of the year.

They seem have found a sense of clarity amid the chaos at certain points.

The tactile crackle and hiss underscoring the calm piano makes this all Hampson's work, as excellent and remarkable as always.

For the moment, Lights Out suggests they are capable of producing compelling work even as they become increasingly comfortable in their own skin.

Bison B.C.'s creations for Lovelessness largely succeed on the strength of those imaginative arrangements and by proving themselves improbably infectious despite their brute façade.

Silly, savage, and willfully schizophrenic, Nookie Wood is at its best when its creator is channeling his more pastoral works.

Kin shows that there's more than just gimmickry to iamamiwhoami.

Those who have been waiting for what seems like an eternity for Timberlake to return to the music scene could do worse than check out Contrast, which although rather front-loaded, is perhaps the most confident and mature teen pop debut of recent years.

Developer feels like the work of a group constantly pulling new rabbits out of hats just as things seem to have peaked, which can only be promising for their future work.

Besides being an impressive melding of unlikely worlds, the five pieces here are transcendently beautiful, and essential listening for a fan of either player or any sound art enthusiast.

Our Nature is too long and just not unique enough to really stand out among all the artists treading similar ground.

Thoroughly enjoyable and high in replay value, this will be most valuable for younger listeners for whom H&LA functioned as a point of entry into house music.

O.N.I.F.C. lands somewhere between the growing pains of an artist forced to develop more quickly than he's ready to and material simply less inspired than the hungrier, more excited sounds that came before.

This is how a hip-hop group reaches middle age: by placing themselves as part of a tradition, never lingering in the past but never desperately riding trends.

If you don't listen closely, it goes down easy, but listening with just a slightly critical ear reveals those similarities [to Dave Matthews] as near farcical.

With A Wrenched Virile Lore, they offer a set of reworkings that are more cohesive than their previous collection, while still taking the songs from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will in notably different directions from their origins and from each other.

While this collection obviously isn't the best place for newcomers to cut their teeth, From the Vaults, Vol. 1 is a collection that will give longtime fans a taste of what could have been in some kind of alternate time line, making the album essential listening for Kylesa diehards.

Still, as the Kasabian-sized choruses stick in the head like the most delicious, stately fluff, The Evolution of Man winds up the dancefloor confessional done right, fist pumping and throwing fits as if it had karma to burn.

This time around Murs delves into even more of a funk sound, and tracks like "Troublemaker" and "Hey You Beautiful" bring to mind the sound of such similarly inclined contemporaries as Maroon 5 and the Wanted.

While a good background album it may be, it's not exactly gripping. The songs are too multifaceted to feel cohesive, yet they never seem strikingly experimental.

With Bish Bosch, Walker creates a kind of Möbius Strip: by virtue of creating a less physical sonic landscape, he provides a way into his great trilogy on his way out of it.

It's a wall-to-wall party for the freaks, burnouts, outcasts, and misfits and if you don't get it that's your fault, not hers.