Places Like This is a fun album that’s difficult to describe and impossible to forget.

What could have been a boring, belligerent, and bellicose introspective slide into the music industry dustbin has in fact turned out to be one of Grandaddy’s most listenable and likeable releases.

Perhaps the only thing missing to complete the utterly charming and enveloping experience of I’m A Dreamer is being able to play it on a crackly gramophone with a shot of prohibition-era moonshine to sup on.

All in all this is a great album.

For Janes, Say Goodbye is a shining force and testimony of the great resolute determination is; if this is what her version of soul is, the new and inviting experiments are surely welcome.

For an artist who continues to mature and expand, Treble & Tremble may not be his magnum opus, but it is a delightful indie-pop album.

Though Suspended Animation boasts 30 tracks, it only runs some 40-odd minutes, and those are some of the most densely packed and bombastic minutes you’re likely to find on a record this year.

Goodbye Bread is a fitting development on an impeccable path. The depth accomplished through five albums is obviously grand and it's definitely as if Segall is purely improving with every passing year.

They’ve placed everything that’s superb about them and have delivered it ten-fold with Yonder is the Clock.

Laswell and company have crafted something deeply personal and profound, and it's destined to be a milestone in his career.

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

The 15 tracks presented are a perfect addition to any iPod and would certainly serve well as background music to any hipster wannabe party you throw.

While Knuckle Down doesn’t wow with new musical directions, the album undeniably satisfies by being familiar and stunning.

It's a bit of an acquired taste, but at record's end, you'll be extremely satisfied.

Common Era is remarkable for a variety of reasons that transcend textual directness. It defies expectations in ways most musicians don't even conceive, let alone attempt.

Four albums in, the music continues to embellish and luckily, entertain for Junior Boys. Even though It's All True might not be the resounding return of earlier albums, the transitions the duo has embarked on have found them crafting sound into brand new revelations.

As with any Kristin Hersh long-player, Learn To Sing Like A Star will of course take a dozen or so spins to reveal its true merits to listeners.

An interesting collage of styles.

There are well-defined marks of maturity in every aspect on this record.

Twenty five and more years ago, an album made by Teardo and Bargeld would have been a much more experimental and chaotic experience than Nerissimo, which is both a work of highly adept modern composition and a sometimes conniving but always listenable performance by a vocalist who knows that even the most eclectic of audiences require entertainment.

Where Asobi Seksu's first album seemed rushed, a little too experimental, and at times too loud, Citrus brings the right amount of noise, swirling affects, and sound balance.

Cooper made it long enough to record one last, amazingly decorated and meticulously crafted album, Immolate Yourself, with his other half, Joshua Eustis. And with this album, not only did the tandem create something special but it just may end up being the best album of their entire career.

Six extended entanglements that capture the spirit of willful experimentation and magnetic pull of melody.

Gorilla Manor consists of twelve very intricate and charming songs. The record has a sense of liveliness and reaches out to human abilities, emotions and reactions.

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

As with Mark's other musical incarnations, whether as Red House Painters or under his own name, a fine-tuned and patient ear, and a good turn of the volume knob towards high, is required to fully appreciate the nuances of his music.

Condors, is a restless, richly-detailed amalgam of intricate, glitchy electronic ambience, guitar reverberations that range from gently acoustic to furiously rockin', and ethereal to keening female vocals that recall Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Nicole Barille of mr. Gnome, and Bjork.

Although The Lost Tape might lack some consistency in places and the live material might have been better served on a separate collection, overall this is a richly rewarding treasure trove for the ever increasing number of Can fanatics across the globe to hunt down immediately and devour.

Morgan is back with Loscil's fifth album, the somber Endless Falls, his most austere and least cluttered album yet.

Those expecting an ultra-stripped-back affair will be in for a surprise too, for although the album sustains and refines Sheppard’s core penchant for pointillist minimalism, Vertical Land is also arguably his most ambitious and elaborate statement to date.

Ashes Grammar takes what they accomplished on SMCJ and attenuates it, stretching it into new shapes and sizes, avoiding a retread of their debut album by avoiding the traditions of the album form altogether.

The result is a fantastic album, almost cinematic in its scope, which sweeps the listener along and leaves them enthralled.

As eclectic as Chasny’s influences may be, there isn’t much here that would sound out of place to underground rock fans.

Whilst Craig Dermody still has some way to go in proving himself as a near-equal to his unconcealed influences, Mid Thirties Single Scene does attest that Scott & Charlene’s Wedding are about far more than a jokey band name, with some increasingly impressive staying-power. Moreover, it’s unquestionably the group’s first keeper collection.

While Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped is a five-song study on what the keyboard instrument is capable of, at least it's rendered through the hands of a skillful musician, with a tenured history for delivering compelling music.

One or two of the tracks sound a bit forced in their arrangements, and I can only too easliy envisage a studio listing in which individual songs are prefixed by descriptions : (the Polka number, the Dylan number, the BRMC number, the one Tom Waits wrote, etc.) but this doesn't detract from the album, if anything it only enhances it as, with a significant part of the albums production process actually audible, and with the musicianship never less than wholly professional, it's difficult to find actual flaws in the project.

On occasions L’Aurore can feel a little overwhelming but given time its full immersion scope becomes more and more hypnotic and impressive. A bold and brave return to the fray all told.

One thing’s for sure, Wilkinson sounds entirely enjoyable on this album. Whether it’s him enjoying himself in crafting this music and/or the fact that Ambivalence Avenue sounds that much more enjoyable than its 2009 predecessor, something’s obviously working.

This album bleeds politics.

And Then You Shoot Your Cousin is as brilliantly strong as Undun, with a multi-faceted story that slowly unravels.

Das Racist takes the strengths off their mixtapes and simply take them on a new adventure with Relax.

Day & Age isn’t a masterpiece but it ends up being their most consistent album to date and it shows true promise of growth and strength in their music.

Animals in the Dark is a natural progression from Whitmore’s previous stripped-down affairs.

Throughout High Places vs. Mankind the two further unravel as well as expand their influences and open-up their compact electronic world to include more live instrumentation and more upfront organic vocals.

They put together nearly perfectly produced and arranged songs, tight and precise yet still urgent and fast.

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

Like Serge Gainsbourg’s contrarian career as a whole, there are lot of hidden profundities and canny pleasures to decipher and uncover here. This makes Intoxicated Women a dense yet rewarding affair, which should satisfy and intrigue hardcore Mick Harvey fans and Sergeologists alike for some time.

It's an irrefutable example of boilerplate rock and roll, and it feels completely awesome.

The numerous instruments, varied influences and genre-hopping arrangements on The Law Of Large Numbers, along with Pollock’s own musical talents, results in some emotive indie-rock whose repeated plays will be justified and rewarded.

Califone's most confident and realized album.

Lali Puna’s Our Inventions mesmerizes with wonderfully layered and intricately constructed electronic sound manipulations that are tastefully crafted into experimental pop songs.

Wareham delivers Emancipated Hearts through a dark yet dreamy fog, honouring his past pedigree as well as finding fresh dimensions for his songcraft in the process.

Music like this is a reward just waiting to happen and if you give it a fair shot, it will surely win you over.

Boca Negra is certainly not the easiest entry-route into the post-jazz catacombs of the Chicago Underground, but its steely determination and non-conformity is nevertheless refreshing and worthy of respect.

Overall, the set works as a study in contrasts, with the ornate sampled arrangements always being in danger of disappearing under the sparking electronic beats or Daedelus’ added textures, whether they be synthesized sounds or computer printers.

If it doesn't put you to sleep, WIT'S END provides a rich and empathetic companion to loneliness.

Whether or not Part II: The New December is steadied and readied as an opportunity to cash in on winning success (they were featured in everything ranging as far as NPR and a video collaboration with the Laker Girls), this is another great compression of darkly layered pop and stellar IDM.

The Else is lined up with catchy, solid songs that I can’t help but sing along to. So though it’s not the best Giants album - it’s good, and it’s kept me entertained.

This is big rock, powerful, aggressive, and impeccably played and produced.

This is heavy and intense music that I find difficult to call pop. She deserves better.

They have indeed created an album that is ultimately rewarding and full of musical promise.

There’s a certain kind of magic going on here and it needs to be accounted for.

Ultimately, this album is about Tyler and we cannot dictate how somebody chooses to express themselves, so the best thing to do is sit back and let him open himself up. warts and all… So yes, I highly recommend the album.

In the end, there's solace in enjoying the refreshed music Future Islands continue to provide.

This is a wonderful piece of work from a talented, intelligent artist, put across with all the passion of someone who's spent a long time thinking about and living with the project.

As Terry expands Aqueduct's sound into similar neo-psychedelic indi-pop territory as Figurines, Islands and Of Montreal, he also shares their knack for animated and robust indie-rock.

Ultimately, Fantastic Planet is not an easy listen yet it rewards persistent immersive airing by gradually offering-up its manifold charms.

Cold Spring Fault Less Youth is as confident and assured as any great follow-up can be, showcasing a group that is not afraid to cross genre-borders and cast aside the meek post-dubstep moniker.

Whether you end up liking this album or not, it is going to be one of the most intense things you've ever heard.

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

As a whole, The Weight is a Gift wins because the band knows how to write a catchy song and make it both sad and exuberant at the same time, with an unerring pop sensibility.

Sumie is not a record for all times, but when the moment strikes, it will deliver--with disarming simplicity--an intoxicating mixture of purity and potency.

Another accomplished, cohesive effort that finds the group continuing to tweak without significantly changing its sound.

It’s certainly a fine achievement, an awesome collection of music has found its way onto Begone Dull Care, and Junior Boys present everything in such an excellent way.

All of this exceptionally solid music is a remarkably beautiful thing to witness.

Car Alarm is essentially Everybody II; an album that subtly stretches the group’s formulaic parameters with rawer production and looser instrumentation but without cementing any concrete boundary-changes.

Ultimately there’s a lot of beauty to behold on Run Rabbit Run.

On Magic Chairs, Efterklang manages to excise its most affected gestures, keep its penchant for wide-ranging adventurousness, and bring new found confidence to the more personal, micro-aspects of their sound. The result is a triumphant orchestral pop record which radiates with intelligence and touch.

Allowing their music to be filled with the goodness they inevitably churn out, My Morning Jacket has embraced the electrical currents that connect their music.

Unlike other odds and sods collections, Around the Well sounds and feels like an accomplished release.

The songs on Bloodsports are suitable to excite the fans (Yes, they do still exist!), enthuse the critics, engage the occasional casual listener, and elicit a shrug from the general public.

Despite including a few hallmarks of a groundbreaking record (experimentalism, eclecticism, ambitious), Wrath of Circuits is still not an easy listen for those people who don't wet their pants at every new Dischord or Touch and Go release.

A memorable display from a band we need to acknowledge as true greats and it’s a thrill ride from beginning to end.

Elephant & Castle is refreshing, and its an extremely impressive solo project.

Their styles complement one another to produce a powerful combination on this album that captivates from start to finish.

Twin Cinema is another great pop album from the New Pornographers, a release that's crammed with so many memorable melodies that the bumpier moments fade into the background.

Radian has given soul and warmth to the body electric on Juxtaposition.

There isn’t anything outlandishly overdone on this album as Beck offers a more stripped down approach. These are obvious efforts to return to a more cohesive, solid form and with a steady dose of subtle harmonies, crafty melodies and hooks, interesting instrumentation and oh yeah, two songs that feature Cat Power, Beck doesn’t disappoint.

The styles that parade their way onto Swanlights would probably be the most noticeably diverse change from what happened on previous albums.

It's a soulful country stroll, which favors heavily on career building and that is something that Dylan Leblanc is sure doing, and quite swimmingly if I might add. Bravo.

Almost everything that YLT can do - and largely do so well - is here, alongside a sizeable smattering of new tricks and treats.

There was definitely a clear division as to what kind of album they were intending to make beforehand and it's brilliantly showcased all over. Further's opening two songs attest to this with a melting of new ideas that immediately signal a new coming.

Overall, The BBC Sessions is another tantalising insight into song world of The Chills, that acts as another generous interim step towards a hopefully fully-fledged wave of new and/or properly reissued material in 2015.

Each track is unique, thanks in part to Markus Acher's peculiar voice and The Notwist's ability to seamlessly blend acoustic pop and electronic rock into a genre-bending, intriguing, and sometimes catchy, electro-fuzz pop, resulting in an uncommonly captivating album that gets better with each spin.

Rather than having rushed to capture and over-stretch the first flushes of studio exploration with a premature first album, the much-awaited Dying logically extends upon the Spectres’ story so far whilst standing-up as a more mature and ambitious statement in its own right.

While most of the songs on Crimes stand out as being extremely well written musically and lyrically, the production needs an extra mention for being flawless.

You are There is a fine example of post-rock that outshines both Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor's latest or last affairs.

The music is easily attended to and the mutual expression of feelings--as they're expressed through stunning instrumentation--is a terrific aspect that Little Me Will Start a Storm definitely possesses.