The fact this lost treasure is once again widely available in any capacity is reason to celebrate.

Despite how often he churns out work, this is steadfast and cohesive.

Unfinished Business doesn't breach new terrain, but then again, there's really no need.

A sense of quiet triumph pervades: this may be the prettiest Mountain Goats album yet.

Friedberger sits at his keyboard noodling around on little motifs with slight variation here and there, which do evoke cinematic cues. But without the images on the silver screen, it becomes the music of buttons being pushed which gets old quickly.

Thomas Brenneck has crafted ten seamlessly funky and beautifully played and arranged instrumental tracks in search of a film.

It's a monster, coursing with primal ferocity and sending wave upon wave of le noise directly at your gut.

Jason Lytle's solo excursions express a bewildering mix of emotions. Dept. of Disappearance, his sophomore set, muddies the waters as much as before.

Recorded live on the floor with his band, ChesnuTT's second album cuts the fat away for a lean, no-bullshit sweet soul program that hearkens back to the heyday of the O'Jays and Al Green.

On the group's third full-length Love Will Prevail, Ragon earns his rightful place alongside the works of the underground icons he flips for profit.

Strapped is a marked maturation from their San Diego start five years ago.

Long Slow Dance is a schizophrenic album, at times frustratingly so.

This is a calm, passionate album miles away from the dirge of YOB, echoing the lucidity of his homeland's creeks and forests, bringing together elements of Eastern and Western folk like David Crosby trading in Topanga Canyon for the Dead Sea.

Of the 13 songs here, roughly half are by male vocalists who, because of the twang in their voices or their choice of instrumentation, have a predictable, even generic, alt-country sound.

Clark's talent is undeniable, but only when he's not flogging it half to death.

Every cut shines with Ndgeocello's brilliantly creative spirit.

To be sure, low fidelity contemplation has generally been Johnson's stock in trade, but even so, there's no denying that Scorpion simply lacks sting.

Breakup Song is an electric, ultra-fun, frenetic carnival; but, it is most satisfying in its quieter, more spacious moments.

It's nearly impossible for Hiatt to put out a bad record. You may not love every song, but there's bound to be a few on there to make the album well worth the price you paid.

The music is consistently impressive. A calmer, mellower than its predecessor, affair, Diluvia is an enchanting album worth several listens.

Sonically, the band tends to be all over the map on this one.

They eventually return to their swampy shuffles and bottleneck guitars but not before establishing themselves as revisionists and revivalists equally content to also mine their own muse.

Eitzel's work is rarely weak, but Don't Be a Stranger finds him hitting another peak.

Sweeping and stirring in its emotional depth, Sing the Delta happily finds DeMent testifying to her beliefs with feeling.

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.

False Flag was a raging, hairy monster of an album; Formerly Extinct is its subtler, more intricate, better groomed (but no less wild) cousin.

Even if it's in small phases, Moon Duo continue to evolve as they revolve.

This is not a return to form, or a wild new approach, just another Steve Forbert album, which means a very good thing to have in the world.