The Avett Brothers have established a singular style. And with it, a well-deserved reputation that assures their place among the best of the breed.

Despite those candid confessions, Arrows never bows to Scattergood’s self-indulgence, given the swooning synths and other cosmic confections.

Like other such endeavors-acoustic re-imaginings, that is-the results aren't that poor. They're just boring.

On Ready to Die, Iggy & the Stooges sound hungry, ready not to expire but to prove something: that rock & roll is not dead and no one does it better.

When the band kicks on the distortion, things pick up immensely.

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

Once just another also ran in a genre destined for obscurity, Jack's Mannequin have moved out of the emo ghetto and settled in nicely into a nice indie rock neighborhood.

All ten tracks evoke surreal circumstance, given a delivery that's atmospheric, amorphous and hypnotic.

If you like the Scottish band, you should probably pick up No One Can Ever Know. If you're interested in the remixers, they have their own material to explore. There's nothing here that either camp can't live without.

With the debut, the main argument against Fool's Gold seemed to be that they were appropriating too much African influence, sounds they didn't have a right to, into what was primarily pop. With Leave No Trace, I'd say they've gone too far the other way, eliminating the eccentricities and exoticisms that made them interesting.

On the second album by Minneapolis four-piece Howler, an energy level worthy of forebears the Replacements, Soul Asylum and even, in places, Husker Du is dialed up, making such tracks as the thrumming/thrashy “Indictment” and the hardcore-tilting “Drip” buzz around the listener’s head like so many hornets.

Easily absorbing subcurrents from Bollywood and bhangra ("Deeper Water") to fear-of-nature horror film soundtracks ("Out of the Woods"), This is PiL never wanders far from that fierce bass and pulsing percussion at its core.

At 21 minutes, these six songs come off like a moderately successful experiment, but an entire album might have been too much of a challenge to sustain.

Not intended for the faint of heart, Is That You in the Blue? chides, challenges and relentlessly rocks.

This tribute album isn't strong enough to be awarded its own two-prong crown (the Fleetwood Mac equivalent of 10 stars), but it's got enough surprises and excitement to keep the genre interesting.

As far as songcraft is concerned, this may be Benson's most consistent record, and What Kind of World will induce ecstasy in the faithful and shocked delight in newcomers.

HEK’s second album makes him sound more confident, distinct and comfortable in his own skin but thankfully not more fancier than his 2011 debut.

The impotence of railing against it is a theme running through a lot of the record, and in the case of Nightingale Floors, coming to terms with the past has freed Rogue Wave to turn in what might be their finest work.

Crocodiles play with great passion and honesty, and the album tackles every human emotion. Consider it an instant classic.

Novak may keep his arrangements raw and his vocals tunefully challenged, but his songcraft improves with every tune.

Accessible to a fault, and exceedingly mellow to boot, it flows with a natural ease usually accomplished by those with far more track time under their belt.

Ostensibly a song-cycle about prep school kids spread over an 11 tracks, the close quarters become the sites of devotion, betrayal, communion (or near-communion), and abject loneliness. But relating to that isn't required to enjoy this rich recording.

The overall sound feels live, where Van's ear-splitting power chords might drop out briefly during a verse, only to return right when it's time to drive things home.

These songs are striking in a musical sense. Young, never the most dynamic vocalist, is remarkably expressive here.

It might not qualify as a lost classic, but Social Climbers' sole output does celebrate a band who played what they felt, even if it meant being ostracized by both the sub-underground and the masses.

This is almost background music (think synth meets krautrock meets disco meets industrial), music to wash the dishes to or fold clothes or, simply music to dance to (that is probably what the band wants) and in that sense it is perfect for a darkened club where the only thing to do is dance (no drinking or fucking allowed).

A journey as personal as Lowe’s can only translate into universal messages that people receive in their own way, regardless of which way their winds blow.

A must-have item for collectors and die-hards, this is also good for casual fans that may not have all the classic songs in their collection.