Daniel justly brings the band’s best attributes to the foreground and It’s Frightening ends up being a tight and concise album.

There is a hardy amount of sweet material on Let’s Be Still and it is a perfect accompaniment to a morning sunrise or a low-key soirée in the woods.

It was a captivating listen then, and remains so now.

Despite earlier successes, European definitively solidifies Sambassadeur as a paragon of Swedish pop: sweet but not sappy, bold yet beautiful, and emotionally eclectic without becoming melodramatic.

This album shows that these guys have plenty of room to expand stylistically while still absolutely owning blues rock.

The Invisible Way champions everything that is great about Low and realizes it through a neat and clear lens. It’s a formidable outing and at number ten, a remarkable feat met with solid results.

Overall, this is a strong and durable suite of material that holds-up satisfyingly well to repeated and loud airings.

Based on the music alone, No World For Tomorrow, like all their work, is a phenomenal accomplishment and remarkable introduction of Progressive Rock into the mainstream cannon.

If The Citizens' intended destination is a place of their own craft that lies beyond the boring boundaries of traditional pop, they can stop driving.

From track to track, there is a progression that not only befits their name but their musical endeavors.

Ultimately, Silence Yourself is eleven songs of balanced, well-constructed rock music.

For the uninitiated though, this is essential listening for any member of the iTunes set; crafting your next playlist will likely turn into a transcendental experience after you hear how uncannily Drake goes along with Flock of Seagulls.

While far from perfect, The Hold Steady's sloppy take on classic rock is actually quite refreshing and much more fun than most current indie rock and British post-punk revival wankery.

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.

With Humbug, they have an album that can be fully enjoyed by anyone willing to give it a fair chance.

Last Light is a compelling expression of compassion, frustration, and love in a variety of forms.

A ten track album sequenced as two sides, with short introductory ambient noise pieces in slots one and six, the tracks drone on long and stand tall together, creating a monolithic listening experience which feels both constantly building and already there.

At times on Song in the Air, I'm reminded of what it might sound like if Sigur Ros, Radiohead, and Jimmy Eat World were all merged together.

They've got enough going for them that they're likely to remain steadfast favorites of true music fans even after the hype has died down and the scenesters have moved on to something else.

Such music deserves strong praise, even when it's simply another great album to hear from one of music's many rising stars.

The band's most eminently danceable record, featuring enough grooves to work your dance party while still retaining enough good ideas to deliver a challenging experimental record that fits well with the rest of the band's catalogue and points to exciting new directions the future could take.

All in all, this is a very impressive record, one that succeeds on just about every little tweak of the pop idiom it attempts.

Poliça may have more to offer, especially if they can branch out from a blueprint that they rightly feel very comfortable with, but for the time being Shulasmith is a finely executed and thematically and emotionally rich record.

The expansively visceral Condition does arguably need to be swallowed whole to make sense of its engrossing immersive scope, although a half-time breather is perhaps advisable for those with more delicate dispositions.

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

Don’t dismiss The Floodlight Collective for the outstanding introduction to Lotus Plaza it is, because in reality, it is a winning release in more ways than one.

So yeah, this album is pretty freakin’ good... but it’s not going to change your perspective on music.

The Mendoza Line have created an album that has had many talking, received the most recognition of their career, and will spawn repeat play on the CD players of many.