As conceptually and contextually bold as Let England Shake is, it features some of Harvey's softest-sounding music.

It's a prickly landscape as off-kilter sounds meet off-kilter ideas, all as Beans does the relentless, stern delivery thing, kicking it poetry slam style and giving listeners no easy hook to hold onto as the avant whirlwind spins.

Dulli thrives on atmosphere, and while his inability to write the kind of sharp hooks or memorable choruses that have elevated other semi-dystopian malcontents into the relative mainstream is evident throughout the album, that sense of place makes Dynamite Steps feel less like a collection of songs and more like a long, dangerous, and unpredictable night on the town.

A great example of how compelling Sonic Youth's instrumental work is, even when it's as subtle as it is here, Simon Werner a Disparu stands among the band's best soundtrack work.

Their love of shoegaze and loud/quiet '90s guitar rock is unadulterated and it translates into the songs and the sound, making it a pure and easy-to-love album for all those who have ever been fans themselves.

While the album is far from rote, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will certainly feels familiar; it may not be as immediately impressive as some Mogwai albums, but its back-to-basics approach makes it another fine addition to their body of work.

A few spins of the album will have much the same effect, and after a while you'll find yourself wishing that Goodman would ditch Vivian Girls and do La Sera full-time--especially if she and Hall can keep making records this wonderful.

The result is an affable album that soothes but rarely dazzles, and In the Cool of the Day winds up functioning better as a contemporary reading of older songs.

It is by its nature something quite other, that is at once strange and almost unspeakably beautiful.

While Savage and Kelly clearly get big kicks from genre-jumping and trying to trip out listeners, "Baby Boomer," "Michael Kelly," and "The World Never Stops" show that they can rock earnestly as well.

Anika is a bold, often fearless debut, and even if it's occasionally an acquired taste, it doesn't hedge its bets.

Concise yet ambitious, Guider finds Disappears firing on all cylinders and going far beyond Lux's promise.

At times, it almost feels like too much at once, but the band's music is so buoyant that to bring it down to earth too much would be a shame.

Even if the newly formed Canadian quartet is still searching for its individuality, when Suuns' strengths come together--as they often do on Zeroes QC--the mix of sparse beats, razor-wire guitar, and downer melodies can be compelling.

While there are a few moments where Violet Cries' potent atmosphere turns meandering and atonal, this is still a promising and often captivating debut from a band with a bold sound.

Just after returning from a European tour in support of their breakout debut, Girls upgraded their recording equipment and chose six of their favorite new songs for the surprisingly conventional-sounding Broken Dreams Club EP.

Although recorded with Midlake (the band even shares billing in the album's title), it feels more like a solo release, lacking both the cohesion of a proper lineup and the checks-and-balances system that Grant's former bandmates provided.

Mayfield's songs are darker, with more discontent, and all contain elements of the subtly sinister or perverse.

**** brings the Greenhornes back to the spotlight, sounding as good as they ever have, and in many respects, better. They're advised not to wait eight years before making another album, but if that's what it takes, the wait seems to be worth it.

Any band can go out, buy the right pedals (or dial up the right effects on a computer), and come up with a reasonable facsimile of the shoegaze sound, but it takes a band with extra skill and imagination to make it sound fresh and vital like No Joy do on Ghost Blonde.

This is another fascinating and unfashionable album from a band unwilling to cater to anyone's expectations except their own, and thriving because of it.

Thanks to its beauty, warmth, and top-rate songwriting, Cut Copy remain atop the pile of dance-rock groups in 2011, right next to LCD Soundsystem. Thanks to its beauty, warmth, and top-rate songwriting, Cut Copy remain atop the pile of dance-rock groups in 2011, right next to LCD Soundsystem.

Teddy Thompson doesn't answer all his questions about women on Bella (of course, for most guys, that would take a box set), but the ones he ponders here are smart and come from the heart, and it makes for an album that will please longtime fans while encouraging newcomers to hear what he has to offer.

Mostly, though, the album is burst after burst of cheerful, weird pop songs that will have you in a state of nostalgic happiness.

Life Coach is surprisingly mellow considering the heavier and louder sounds Manley has pursued for most of his career, but it's never boring: the way it encompasses the pop and avant sides of his music will please fans of his other work.

It may be nothing all that new, but whether it's a nostalgia trip or a first-time discovery of just how well noise and melody can blend together, Kudos is vital listening for indie rock fans in 2011.

It is these more upbeat electric moments on the album that truly stand out. That said, much of People Problems is filled with more acoustic, ruminative moments that, while pleasantly melancholic, detract somewhat from Oh No! Oh My!'s more driving pop inclinations.

Minks leave listeners wanting more on By the Hedge, a debut that sounds timeless and surprising.