The music married to these wonderful lyrics is touching, gorgeous and stunning and there is no doubt in my mind that Atlas Sound has created, arguably, the best album of the year.

While Embryonic shares with Brew many of the spontaneous bursts of chaos that made that album such a jarring listen, you can rest assured that this beautiful mess was--thanks to Coyne and his admitted control issues--a very calculated affair.

Not a slow spreading psych filled with guitar soloing, but instead an orchestra of miniatures, Infinite Love presents a joyous world which is always bright and never boring.

With the absence of anything quite as moreish as say “Tweet Tweet Tweet” or “No One’s Bothered” it may go for less instant satisfaction but it’s undoubtedly still worth tucking into as part of the steady Sleaford Mods diet.

A work like this is only self-indulgent if its accoutrements aren't justifiable. Wilco makes every note count on this album: however miraculously, it all manages to cohere. And the songs are undeniably stunning.

In the end, most of the songs on MM..Food? are of typical Doom quality (for the uninitiated, that means â??excellentâ?), but the album is severely bogged down both by a few duds and by a trio of interludes in the middle of the album.

Packed with a convincing fusion of craftmanship, camaraderie and charm, We’re Not Talking certainly never comes close to a sophomore slump.

The album sounds amazing.

The Bravest Man in the Universe doesn't need much of a buffer as it quietly approaches its essence with backing tracks, loops, bouts of acoustic guitar and piano all holistically orbiting around the central component of the album, Womack's unblemished vocals.

After all those years that people remarked and possibly, tried to shut him out, Stevens has returned with what just might be the best music he has ever crafted.

It's this sort of wide-eyed optimism [heard on "Near Death Experience Experience"] that lends Break It Yourself immediate appeal.

There's a strong sense of pop hooks all over and with a rock vibe that is both heavily-induced and rendered, Segall and Presley have delivered a terrific debut.

With Icky Thump they have proven, yet again, that being musically sound in both songwriting and craftsmanship, while knowing how to exercise instrumentation is key in making a solid album in today’s day and age.

The Crying Light may not be as directly moving or as astounding as its predecessor, it’s a fine album on its own.

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.

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

Malkmus, along with producer Beck, direct the music on Mirror Traffic with playful lyrics and flourishing styles that versatile and extended enough, shine with ease.

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

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.

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.

About as good as a live album can get.

Wyatt At The Coyote Palace shows us a performer whose energies are intact and whose music and lyrics retain their ability to provoke, charm and occasionally disturb us.

He may like his disguises and perhaps enjoys provoking his audiences but underneath the image and the keen ear for wordplay a really quite serious songwriting talent is very determinedly making himself heard.

The Sunlandic Twins is a dizzying, exhilarating, and almost endlessly fun ride, breezy almost to a fault, romantic and lighthearted.

He covers an impressive amount of ground on Lucky Shiner, and the variety works in his favor. Perhaps he's missing a degree of originality, but what these tracks might be lacking in idiosyncratic branding will likely be made up for with a longevity of listenability.

It’s pretty hard to turn down, just as his collection of self-referencing, string heavy ballads "You‘re So Silent Jens" was.

Street Horrrsing is a solid if still flawed album full of enough cool moments to satisfy anyone who might be interested in checking it out.

An extremely beautiful and captivating slice of electro-pop.