This album is clearly not one you would want to put on in the background of your next party. In every aspect (its forms, melodies, instrumentation, etc.) it is a challenging and engaging hour of music.

Rise Against have slowed their music, and in the process, have created a hell of a rock album.

Overall, it's a solid, well-crafted effort from a well-loved indie-folk band.

Despite its homage to its predecessors, the album holds its own and shows signs of Ringo Deathstarr developing its own signature sound.

Sadly, Dan Bejar tuned down the distinctive cross-hatch in his vocals that has made skin crawl with delight, but, as has remained unchanged for over a decade, his continental blues are heard in his quick-witted lyrics; the lovely laments of Kaputt are full of tongue-in-cheek nuances.

Both aspects of the album exemplify great music played by great musicians and should be anything but a disappointment.

Though her lyrics are incoherent, Barwick tells a story on this album that is up for interpretation depending on the listener as if Barwick created the music just for her.

Though King Of Limbs may be the band's simplest and most inaccessible album to date, the tone and mood created by the chaotic start and smooth finish makes it an exciting work.

The rest of the album holds up to the single's brilliance, as Bundick traverses quite a few genres-from his trademark chillwave, to acoustic dream-pop ("Before I'm Done") and severe piano-led ballads ("Good Hold").

The duo is quite adept at keeping the dopey momentum going, but without a respite or a break in the haze, Return To The Ugly Side is often impenetrable. But that's kind of cool--a half-hour album that stretches out (or drags on) to feel like far longer.

Arbouretum brings back that good old fashioned psychedelia to rock music with its fourth album The Gathering.

While artists such as Dam-Funk, Onra and Krystal Klear resurrect this sound some 20 odd years later, Back To Reality establishes that Tony Cook was, and still is, the real thing.

The songs on Music Is Not For Everyone dance the incredibly thin line where they sound completely believable while the sarcasm still leaks through as subtly as a teenager's cologne.

The album can simply be described as a great band supporting quality lyrics, served up as organically as possible.

Upon first listen, it sounds like all of the rest-cutesy vocals, romantic lyrics, peppy poppy guitars. But on Departing, the guitars are massive, the lyrics are gorgeous and the vocals are astonishingly expressive.

Whether sweet, creepy, epic or hilarious, all 13 tracks on the album represent Faust's ability to dismantle the structures inherently embedded in our musical expectations and free us into a world of unique and thoughtful organized layers of sound.

It has continued in the same direction and spirit in Songs From A Zulu Farm, reinvigorating the soul of its isicathamiya (a sort of Zulu a cappella) harmonies and style, while also reviving the songs that leader Joseph Shabalala grew up singing.

Space Is Only Noise is a paradox. It's a dance album that can't be danced to, a lounge album that you actually want to listen to, but most importantly, it's an electronic album with emotion.

This is a solid half-hour of garage-y indie rock that is usually catchy, occasionally great, and pretty much always competent.

Rounding out Bradley's raw emotion is his bombastic backing band: Daptone's funky Menahan Street Band. But however many names are dropped, Bradley's innate showmanship and voice--a mournful alto bellow--are all his own.

There is something refreshing about an artist that tries to create well written and well produced songs instead of ones that smack you in the face with the frying pan made of catchy hooks, beats and shout-along choruses.

All three members take to the LP's nine tracks with post-punk minimalism and as tracks draw on and the elements begin to take on a cohesive shape, it appears that by attacking with less, Little Joy inevitably comes together as more.

The best thing to do on The People's Key isn't to connect with Oberst's lyrics. It's to connect with how connected Oberst is with what he's singing.

In fact, a lot of the album may be confused for being from another time period. But nostalgia works in the band's favor on this first release--even though it wears its influences right on its sleeve.

An album that uses so much in so little time, Old Friends has everything to offer.

Sahel Folk is a steadily moving work of clean sound not typically found in live works.

Wondervisions, its lyric-less debut full length, does not fall short on its abilities to stir emotion.

James Blake transcends dubstep, and perhaps artificiality as a whole.