It doesn't seem quite as strong as Feels, but also seems like the group might be on the verge of something even better.

It feels more like a band effort, allowing itself to breathe a little more in places.

Imagine a highly narcotic Shins with even more subtle instrumentation and you're getting somewhere close.

Sufjan Stevens is a musician who seems to just be reaching his creative peak and shows no signs of slowing down.

This album is a great deal of fun.

Not only a one of the debuts of the year, but also one of the better releases in general, this self-titled debut from Hercules And Love Affair is worth picking up.

Insignificance is the release that finds him hitting his stride completely, seemingly mixing little bits of all the different styles that he's poked around with and boiling it all down into a cohesive little release.

It's something that could appeal to everyone from fans of Can to Fela to Kompakt. This is inspiring stuff.

It's not quite straight-up noise, and it's certainly not dance music, but if you like a bit of both, this debut from Fuck Buttons should make you a bit giddy.

Spaced-out and seriously hypnotic, Where You Go I Go Too is one of those releases that is custom-made for late summer evenings. It's not too loud, but at the same time has enough of a pulse to be a guide for steady movement.

With ten songs running a hair under forty minutes, it's a concise debut that hits the mark a good portion of the time while introducing All The Saints as someone to really keep an eye on.

If I were to have just heard the first half of the disc, I probably would have proclaimed it the best of the year as well.

If you've heard any of his previous work (including the fairly recent Night Ripper), you know the modus operandi for Girl Talk, but Feed The Animals is even on another level in terms of sheer density. Because of this, just about everyone who hears it will have different favorite moments that stick out to them, and that's part of the beauty.

It's the sort of release that will drive some listeners completely nuts simply because of the construction techniques, but it also powers forward with such a giddy energy that it's hard not to get wrapped up in it.

What it all comes down to is that the album is not only damn fun to listen to, but it has enough aura and vibe that you may want to make it your personal soundtrack for this summer.

Serious deep headphone (or loud stereo) listening, this is certainly no toss-off.

In places, the group seems like they're being almost willfully difficult, and yet it often makes for darn good listening.

An excellent third album from the Swedish trio, Writer's Block should make sure that the group remains in obscurity no more.

One of my favorite albums so far in this very young year.

If you've liked any of his previous work, you won't go wrong here.

Even more engaging than their debut, So This Is Goodbye is another amazing album from Junior Boys, and one of the better releases of the year.

All of the interesting parts of his music are still here, he's just written an album that plays up his strengths in more measured ways. The result is easily his best release to date.

Although it's definitely a bit bi-polar, Cryptograms still gets high marks for offering up a slew of great tracks and actually gaining strength the longer it goes on.

It's a great return to form from the group, and easily their best full length since they've started incorporating vocals on nearly every song.

There are a lot of groups out there doing this sort of music, but not very many doing it this well.

Clever without being pretentious.

In the end, it doesn't really matter that it's the soundtrack to a video game that I'll never play. It's a new Amon Tobin album (and a good one at that), and that's all I need.

Although the music of the group has taken quite a few strides forward, it is also once again the voice of Trish Keenan that holds everything together.