The sad thing about Waves are Universal is that there are many songs that just don't cut it.

Ejstes crafts songs where throwback psych-pop melts effortlessly into cascading soundscapes, jazz interludes, and epic instrumentation.

What sets The Real New Fall LP apart, however, is the consistency of its greatness. Every Fall album has had a bum track or two since 1984, but this new record really doesn’t.

Hot Fuss is a multi-faceted, consistently interesting and enjoyable synth-rock album with strengths across the songwriting, singing, and playing fields.

Whilst Moore’s meandering stops Sonic Nurse from going that much needed extra mile, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo are on reassuringly good form.

Chock-full of catchy songs, off-kilter melodies, and A.C. Newman’s clever lyricism.

Brother is to Son is a genuine pop triumph, the perfect execution of conceptual complexity and musical audacity, tied together with the timeless expression of one man measuring the motions of his soul.

Twisted, mangled, and deeply submerged under the layers of bewitching muck are brilliant melodies with sonorous strings hidden between double-tracked guitars and gigantic, mesmerizing choruses.

What elevates the music of Love and Distance are the unexpected combinations that make this latest Sub Pop release a cut above the duo's former albums.

While not every song on Glass Floor is a gem, the best ones here are so good, I can only assume Maritime will be a step forward even for these artists’ illustrious careers.

A great album from a fantastic band.

There’s so much going on here that you have to listen close. And still, it’s a fun album, catchy and wild and full of exuberance.

Nothing here is horrible, but nothing here is great.

You've heard all these elements before, but never quite this way.

It’s not much of a pop record, but it’s very catchy in spots. It’s not experimental in the least, but it does have it’s own specific sound and feel. When it welcomes you in, Hotel Morgen can start to impress you.

For all the energetic, dark, brooding noise of Howling...It Grows and Grows, the Catheters are missing one thing: variety.

Although most of the songs are good individually, the record is fairly monochromatic, and it can get a bit tiresome listening to it from start to finish.

The Secret Machines’ Now Here is Nowhere seamlessly fuses nine tracks and crafts a brilliant and sometimes trippy path colored with a tapestry of melodic motives and fragments of reverbed guitar.

It’s hard not to like The Thermals, and Fuckin A, while maybe a bit less lo-fi than its predecessor, is a stellar album.

Alternating between sounding like a gremlin and sounding like a baby, the vocals don't so much haunt as distract.

The great beauty of the record, though, is how repeated listenings peel back once-unheard layers, how Phillips’ voice develops a deeper resonance with each spin, and how the deceptive simplicity of the recording gradually fades to reveal carefully scripted movements and moments.

A rich, rewarding showcase for a woman whose voice, spirit, and energy have not faded.

Inches is not just a great concept; it’s a legitimately great rock record in most every facet, and it's Les Savy Fav’s best release outside of Rome (Written Upside Down).

All in all this is a rock-solid debut from a group of veteran musicians who aren't necessarily out to reinvent the wheel but whose fiery passion rings through on every note.

Faking the Books is one of the best albums to come out so far this year.

It’s the sheen and almost reflexive attentiveness to commercial accessibility that’s placed on a good handful of the songs that can make them sometimes fail or falter or seem weaker than they truly are.

The music is consistently fresh, fascinating, and evocative... the band’s best album to date.

The worst thing you can say about On My Way is that it isn't as good as Sha Sha.

The Mouse is back, just as polished and schizo as it ever was.

A simple exercise in bright, energetic--if somewhat vapid--pop music.

This is certainly my favorite British release of the year.

Talk about a debut album, Panic Movement is worth more than just NME hype.

Bee Hives is a mostly instrumental album that heavily favors the fuzzy keyboard tones and heavy reverb of the band’s early work.

He’s able to craft songs that are touching without becoming seriously over-sensitive.

Arguably the best album in their career.

This may be the kind of album that turns on a new generation of fans to the beauty of folk music, while approaching it from a modern perspective.

There is a certain magic at work here, one you don’t hear often, and one that belongs to true artists alone.

It’s easily one of the best pieces of work of both participants’ careers and a mark of the incredible talent both possess.

It’s so intriguing that I continually find myself tuning and listening to it over and over again.

A vital, winning album.

A coherent, moving album that cements its place in listeners conscience.

Milk Man is representative of just about everything the band does best: the melodies soar, bend, and crunch; the verse seems interminably driven by its own internal logic; and the band’s members still play with a near-telepathic singularity of thought.

Fall Back Open is a well-constructed modern pop record that displays some neat influences and also contributes a good deal of its own.

Pawn Shoppe Heart is a pretty kick-ass rock n’roll record.

Sitek manages to conjure a musical playground within which Adebimpe’s vocals can frolic.

Remarkable for its excellence and not its originality.

Arguably the best thing Phillips has done since Grant Lee Buffalo’s fantastic 1993 debut, Fuzzy.

An interesting collage of styles.

It’s no mystery that the band’s most focused, intelligible, and pop-oriented record is also its best.

Spirit Stereo Frequency is an entirely mature album that is not afraid to have fun.

The more poppy songs here are remarkably good.... But be aware that it's often a jarring listen.

Throughout the two albums, Lambchop effortlessly and repeatedly cross country, rock, soul, jazz, and cinematic borders. [combined review of both discs]

Admittedly, this two-headed beast, however benevolent, isn’t a flawless creation. There’s the inevitable White Album-style filler to bulk up the tracklist. [combined review of both discs]

This album is proof that his talent extends far beyond grunge and pop-rock and that he can write and play songs in just about any style.

This is a revelatory album for the Mountain Goats and the listeners; both Darnielle and the audience find new strength in his open vulnerability.

Confident, daring, regal, and altogether incredible, Bows & Arrows knows its bounds and casually out-steps them; simply put, it is the best record released this year.

The poetry of pain is so strong, and mixed with superbly produced music that doesn’t take a nanosecond for granted.

The diversity of the mixes on The Grey Album also is a testament to how carefully Danger Mouse has cut and pasted together his unauthorized sonic pastiche.

A series of serene and sensuous treasures rich in texture and laden with rapturous instrumental hooks.

Seriously fucked-up and seriously stunning.

A crisp, clean, and undeniably beautiful work.

Heron King Blues, for all its successes, is not an album for Califone rookies.

Educated Guess is an absolutely stunning creation, although it did take a few listens for me to begin to fully appreciate what I was hearing.

Pyramid, while not being a step back, isn’t a step forward.

The group's strength and distinguishing characteristics rest in its superior sense of melody.

It’s a glorious low-frequency hootenanny that slurs soul, punk, psych-rock, and pop until you’re not sure what language you’re hearing anymore.

The net result is a crisp, sometimes crunchy, and often lush collection of songs that show Kozelek at his best since... Songs for a Blue Guitar.

With some guitar plucks and stuttering drums, the group is able to be more emotionally resonant and inspired than most other bands’ yelping front men can.

The fuzz and drone of Today is the Day is a refreshing look back at the band’s mid-90s, Painful/Electropura era.

This is one of the most unique, inviting, and ultimately thrilling song cycles released this year.

Those without a stomach for a little humor in their music will surely thumb their noses, but for everyone else, this is essential listening: a whip-smart band of originals, living with death, throwing coconuts at the rest of us from greener pastures.

An incredible record.

A record of truly original and moving songwriting.

It’s symphonic, seductive, resolute, yearning.

Heard once, the record is breathtaking for its emotional qualities. Heard twice, it begins to sound more and more like a brilliantly crafted classical chamber piece, with themes holding each of the hymns up to the same illuminating light.

Beet, Maize & Corn is a pleasant album of calm, beautiful pop with a touch of class that’s rare.

Never before has Bianchi put so much focus on the lyrics and been so open, so vulnerable.

It is far too lengthy to function as a coherent hip-hop record.

A melancholy masterpiece.

I know the whole ‘retro-rock’ thing is en vogue in about a bazillion different ways, but Stellastarr*’s take just seems a bit more energetic and vibrant than most. Considering the genre, this disc is a frighteningly solid listen.

Too much of the edge is gone, too much emphasis is placed on guitar solos, and the guitars sound, at times, rather flat and listless.

It's often a bit silly, always fun, and surprisingly inspired.

The best Swell album since 1997’s Too Many Days Without Thinking.

Given the potency of their debut, British Sea Power’s Decline can safely be interpreted as a marvelous exercise in self-deprecation.

Byrne fans will probably already own this, and probably should, if for no other reason than the final two tracks. Casual fans who haven’t seen the movie will probably be put off by 13 mostly homogeneous tracks of soundtrack fare. Without an emotional attachment to either Byrne or the movie, that’s simply too much for even a solid album like this to overcome.

While they still manage to skronk out with the best of ‘em, Hocus Pocus is still a little too mixed up, eclectic, unfocused, and, at some points, a little boring.

The Decemberists are stuck in the past while innovating with an eye on the future.

The Meadowlands is absolutely essential.

May be the perfect pop album.

Shine a Light doesn’t defy genres; it defies poseurs. It isn’t fashionable; it’s a staple.

If you wanna hear some Killing Joke, do yourself a favor and go get a copy of the band's original debut self-titled record or What's THIS For...! (which were complete trend-setters), because this latest release comes off as nothing but a lifeless self-parody of those albums.

The band's most “accessible” album to date.

The Clientele’s debut album offers consistently strong melodies, excellent playing, occasional surprise, and a taste for more.

Answers is a document of how good instrumentals can be written without walls clearly delineating where the verse ends and the chorus begins.

It is an ambitious effort, and it could very well leave your brain hurting by the time all of the songs have wrapped themselves around you, because there is so much going on and so much to digest.

One of the most surprising, challenging, and important albums of the year.

Anyone who’s familiar with The American Analog Set knows what to expect and won’t be disappointed by this album.

If you're looking for a less structured, more experimental 764-Hero-style band, these two guys do it quite well.