Track for track, From Here We Go Sublime is mired in some of the simplest beats in modern electronic music.

It’s a remarkable debut by a tremendous quartet. Not only does it have the raw emotion, but also the intense, glorious musicianship, absorbing hooks and grandiose arrangements to leave you utterly breathless, drained and wanting more.

Strangelet may not be Grant-Lee Phillips’ most stirring collection of songs, but it’s certainly no catastrophe.

Although Saltbreakers may have less easy-to-find melodic hooks than its predecessor, it certainly doesn’t lack much in the rich eclecticism stakes.

The band's eponymous debut is a classy, memorable, and swooning collection of sophisticated pop.

It’s a sincere album that is as friendly and rewarding as any of their previous works.

It’s not quite the doom-laden disaster that provisional plays suggest but neither is it an easy-to-recommend addition to the Low catalogue.

Undeniably the most diverse album Leo’s ever made, Living with the Living leaves not one of Leo’s stylistic stepping-stones unturned.

His careful attention to detail and masterful use of vocal harmonies are unparalleled in modern indie rock.

It's an excellent album. It might be the best album released this year. And it proves that Funeral was not a fluke.

It sounds like 4th generation Stooges impersonators.

Everything comes together in a melting pot of rock and pop that is both delightful and intriguing. It has melodies, smart and quirky lyrics, and the band features some unique musicianship that is executed well.

This is quite possibly Explosions in the Sky's finest moment. Buy this album now and be ready to have your life changed.

The Cost is hardly a poor album - in fact it's a quite good album - but after the release of so many gems, I find it difficult for it to completely measure up to the stiff competition.

Calla's sound continues to evolve as they explore divergent musical avenues within the context of potent, atmospheric alt-rock.

Even the better tracks fall a little flat.

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.

This is a just an amazingly pretty and graceful album.

Although This Too Will Pass is a very solid effort from a maturing artist, it seems to be missing some of the energy of previous releases.

Jesse Sykes and company have fashioned an alternative country-rock album that is both decent and reflective.

The first two songs eclipse any other songs on the album, but I'm not saying the rest of the material is weak.

A bland alt-pop stew that meanders aimlessly.

An original and exquisite album full of playful and energetic indie-rock that, while retaining some of the same qualities as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, is also a step in a new direction that suits the band fine.

Roadkillovercoat, though possessing several arresting and infinitely entertaining moments, lacks the overall effect and a certain cohesion to render it an instant classic.

The group's sound is, at times, difficult to simply listen to, so it comes as no surprise that expanding upon it in such a drastic way would produce several miscues.

This album has something for everyone and will appeal to the kids who like ambient drone pieces and folks who love songs with great pop hooks - and everyone in between.

For all its aural pleasantries, it seems bored, lethargic, strapped, bounded and paralyzed by mysteriously viscous elements.

Wincing The Night Away has enough dreamy, jangly and melodic indie-pop that almost lives up to the hype and will leave swirling, seraphic sensations playing inside your head.

The album sounds amazing.

Hard to describe but easy to recommend.

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.

Akin to AM era Wilco matched with Big Star's #1 Record.

The Bird and the Bee is as light as a feather, for sure. It’s not throwaway, though; the darting melodies and twinkling keyboards are like some divine ringtone and the pair’s love of jazz standards is apparent in the harmonic reach and twists of their songs.

The indulgences and overreaching take away from the really good songs.

This is not Tom Waits’ best record... But the whole package... is riveting, a collection that should humble lesser musicians who only can aspire to the mantle of Waits’ discarded work.

This album bleeds politics.

If you've yet to experience PJ Harvey, The Peel Sessions: 2001-2004 might be the perfect initiation. If you're a long time fan, don't pass this album up simply because you recognize many of the tracks listed.

Alas, it feels like In the Absence of Truth finds the band both spinning its wheels and running out of ideas.

One of the most accessible, pleasant releases of 2006.

Upon first listen, some of Calamity, though fun, sounds like partial ideas rather than full-fledged songs. Some tracks never recover from this symptom after a dozen spins; some do.

Roots & Crowns encircles the listener and flows effortlessly as each song melts into the next in bewitching bliss.

Micah P. Hinson And The Opera Circuit is a very unique album that can be as warm and familiar as it can be chilling and alien.

Be Still Please is the best work of McCaughan’s career.

The overall effect is some formidable, quirky inde-rock.

With those sharp synth lines, and an interesting sense of melody, the Killers have made a good album.

The songs are catchy, well written, anthemic, and fun.

The Decemberists have always had a flair for the dramatic, but it's refined and realized more than ever on their amazing new album The Crane Wife.

It’s the best batch of songs he’s had in a while.

No alarms, no surprises.

Beach House is the perfect accompaniment for an introspective day, or night, of watching the globules of a lava lamp slowly float and sink.

This is a punishing record that manages to be both incredibly dense and yet highly listenable.

The lack of complexity, tension, and propulsion in most of these songs is a big disappointment because the soundscapes are not grand and glorious enough to overcome the simplistic musical lines and repetitive nature of the lyrics.

Frankly, you could pick pretty much any song at random and be guaranteed either a gorgeous slab of jubilation or a bittersweet drop of beatification.

The Letting Go is arguably the most pretty and richly detailed record Oldham has released in years.

Is this a "mature" album? Probably. But I can't help thinking that without Nina Persson's beautiful voice, Gravity just wouldn't have garnered a whole lot of attention.

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

The brilliant new album Dark Light Daybreak sees Now It's Overhead mixing the smoldering and beautifully layered guitar sounds from 2001's self-titled debut with the haunting synth-pop beats from 2004's Fall Back Open and taking them a step further by including more intricate melodies, polished arrangements and even grander guitar-scapes.

By the end of the album, you're likely to forget that the band band has been tagged as stoner rock, because there's a lot more than that going on here.

Welcome to the Drama Club shows that he’s still got plenty of catchy hooks left.

One could go on for hours about the qualities of each individual song, but it is the way they coalesce as a whole that makes Blood Mountain an incredible listen from start to finish.

With its restructured band lineup and multiple producers/locations, Fading Trails is unavoidably a somewhat dispirited and disjointed affair.

[Its] strongest songs more than compensate for the few lapses in songwriting found elsewhere.

Nightcrawler stretches Yorn’s limits as an artist and crosses the line in a few places.

It's unconvincing and bland.

It never really builds steam until the end, when it is almost too late.

Whereas his previous long-players were primarily personified by their hushed beauty, dusty experimentation, and nostalgic romanticism, Post-War pushes forward a more boisterous and band-orientated vision for Ward’s sturdy songwriting.

An album that sounds both familiar and fresh and entirely entertaining.

Essentially one long postcard from the very edge of loneliness and sorrow.

Yeah, they're good at what they do, but what they do is just not that palatable.

Noir... writes some really genuine, cheery, memorable songs, but it’s just too much to digest on one record.

It's apparent that great care was taken in the making of this record as the meticulous production radiates through the music on every song.

While many electronic acts are trying their hand at folkier compositions and attempting to squeeze warmth from the digital realm, The Knife's Silent Shout opts for ice-cold distance. The record suffers nothing for it, instead coming out monolithic and beautiful.

So while the subdued vocal harmonies and acoustic folk influences of 70s pop bands Chicago and America can be heard, there is enough intricately layered dream-pop floating around the fleshed-out orchestrations to keep indie-rock fans contented.

Melodic post-punk rarely sounds as beautiful, exciting, or emotionally connected as it does on Two Thousand.

Cansei de Ser Sexy is just so acutely gaudy and trashy that, despite an abundance of spunk and sneer, it comes off as disaffected and impossibly irritating.

Happy New Year's only flaw is that the second half drifts a bit.

Ultimately, The Avalanche lacks the lasting impact of Illinois, as its songs don’t quite hold the same sense of gravitas, economy, and focus.

The album doesn't make the point that Yorke doesn't need his bandmates to make a great record so much as it helps shed light on what each member of the band contributes to the overall equation.

Its warmth, honesty and intuitive sensitivity capture Stuart Staples firmly back to the dizzy high-quality heights of his cherishable early-career with the Tindersticks.

Guster finally feels like a full band and not some cutesy sideshow act.

The unashamedly wilful reductionism of Brightblack Morning Light will either engross or alienate listeners, depending wholly on instinctive preferences.

Mo’ Mega starts off strong... But from [the middle] on out the songs lose focus.

It’s obvious Adamson possesses some serious musical vision, but Stranger on the Sofa takes so many musical missteps and is so laughable lyrically, I have trouble recommending it.

If each track is taken on its own merits, it's apparent that these girls have real talent and there is some creative indie rock here.

I admire the band's unorthodox approach to its music and its combination of disparate rock and non-rock elements.... That said, I will probably never be able to listen to this entire album in a single sitting.

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.

So whilst The Obliterati is certainly not a patch on the seminal Vs. - given that it lacks the same magical combination of cerebral claustrophobia and kinetic psychosis - it’s easily more potent than the over-oiled ONoffON.

If there were ever an album that fulfilled the requirements for a “summer album,” this is it; Phoenix offers songs that offer little in the way of innovation or substance but a wealth of top-notch musicianship, catchy melodies, and transcendent choruses.

While this most recent release does not equal the shimmering weight of Bows and Arrows, it has more than enough potency to stand on its own.

Sublime.

It’s the core songwriting beneath the band’s rich sonic layering that needs the greatest sharpening.

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

As is to be expected in any collaboration of this type, there are a lot of good ideas to be found, and it’s worth hearing, even with a few missteps.

As much as I loved Amore Del Tropico, The Spell comes across even more striking.

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.

If there is one tiny flaw on this disc, it's the way some of the songs, after teasing us with intensifying waves of sound, tend to drift to an ending prior to attaining their destination.

The second half of the album wallows in the shadow of the first, unable to conjure the absolute majesty of the first four tracks.

Despite the extremely strong sonic points, most of the album falls short in the songwriting department.