Despite the duplications from previous collections and a heavy emphasis on dubious alternate mixes, true devotees will likely still find Made in California an essential acquisition.

Mudhoney’s new live set, L.i.E. (Sub Pop), collected from a 2016 tour, is bluntly, ferociously coherent, though it spans three decades, seven albums and one Roxy Music cover.

Call it a comeback. Call it a rebirth. Welcome back Barrence. Dig Thy Savage Soul rocks.

It’s hardly an easy listen, but it’s a compelling one just the same. And if it’s not exactly a conclusive journey, it’s still one worth traveling all the same.

A nourishing collation, Fear Fun has more rock (than the work of Fleet Foxes, or on Tillman's previous solo work), masterfully nuanced production (by Jonathan Wilson), and some exemplary compositions.

It's not often that an album has this much to offer, intellectually, physically and spiritually. This is not just another sterile bedroom disco experiment, far from it.

Though occasionally confounding, it inevitably turns out to be time well spent.

You have to go back to 1993’s Songs of Faith and Devotion to find a more consistently flawless record from the band. Lyrically the trio is in top form.

Those who loved the Del-Lords in the 1980s will be delighted, as should anybody who missed them but thinks passion, skill, and commitment are a pretty good combination in music.

Nothing is Wrong is a terrific follow-up for a band that delivers beautiful, powerful music straight from their own hearts and right to yours. Believe.

Young Magic transform their emulation into a transformation of a style that's like nothing else out there.

It's obvious at the outset they create a mighty bold impression all their own.

Sometimes controlled, occasionally chaotic, this new album packs a powerful impact.

The most conspicuous element of Last Summer is the simplicity of the music.

Fourth Corner is one of those rare releases that leaves its listeners wanting more.

These are songs that brush up against you softly, swirl up around you like a sweet smelling breeze and leave you wistful for things you can’t quite put into words.

Wolfroy Goes to Town haunts you quietly, in a private way that is, somehow, all the more devastating.

Not all of the songs are hits ("Met Before" falls way short as a flat, unmemorable filler), but it's much more cohesive and really helps Chairlift establish a more recognizable sound.

Reconvened 17 years later, Cardinal shows their hushed melodies and chamber pop sensibilities gel just as well now as they did originally.

As with so much African music, Né So favors hope over despair, proud defiance over inchoate anger, and stands as the most trenchant portrait of the African musical spirit so far this year.

For a moment or two here, Quilt sounds like a lost Pretty Things track, but as mentioned earlier, this is really their own unique creation. And it needs to be heard right now.

Doldrums have given voice to the psychology of the outsider, fashioning a work of art whose queasy, warped nature is just too hard to shake.

Like its celebrated, quarter-century old predecessor, Array 1 is the culmination of the group’s furious fusion of psychedelic crunch, ambient moan and motorik vroom, and a reminder of just how brilliant Loop is and always was.

It’s a gorgeous, unreal place that Mount Kimbie evokes on Love What Survives, but dissonance leaks in through the crevices.

It’s a wonderful soul inspiring, mournfully imbued compendium of her songs that will hopefully continue to inspire an even younger crop of musicians on into the future.

What they’ve found, is pop perfection, and Fifth is a contemporary gem.

Patterns of Light is a unique collaboration that gives what seems like conventional psych/prog rock a depth no classic band would have ever imagined. You may think you’ve heard something like this before, but trust us--you really haven’t.

Skyline reads as a series of tiny moments--not major life events but instead the beautiful, insignificant ephemera that falls away in the wake of life's progress.