John Wizards is a sonic journey both geographically and temporally, without being an exercise in musical channel surfing.

Broken Politics is an expansive and heartfelt collection of songs--a communication from within one of the most singular artists working today, articulating the nuances of where politics start for many: in one's day-to-day existence.

The seemingly strange power that Actress has is to disorient the listener (i.e., the visceral shock accompanying the tonally maximal "Shadow From Tartarus"), though this contrast mostly allows for R.I.P.'s intricate and detailed beauty to thrive just beneath the cracks.

Although Doyle's vocal melodies lack focus at times, Total Strife Forever possesses enough left-turns to satisfy the most adventurous electronic music fans.

Porridge Radio delight in these universal growing pains that ultimately reveal a greater vulnerability, born of not having it all figured out yet. As such, WDBLTTS is a natural next step on the road to nowhere.

Ivy Tripp is not a record about being in love or and it's not a record about getting your heart broken; it's about the foggy, messy tangle of the feelings in between. And they've never sounded so good.

Contradictions and duplicities abound. But Webster is not putting us on. For all of its facades, Atlanta Millionaires Club is a work of arresting candour.

It's a record built less on borrowed nostalgia and genre fetishism and more on earnest, risk-taking creativity and mixing genres in weird sonic chemistry experiments.

If Touch were the first album by a brand new band, it would likely be judged as an unequivocal triumph — but Tortoise suffer from the burden of their iconic back catalogue.

A deep, traversing album.

The production on Somewhere Else is crisp and clean (though they could have pushed Loveless' distinctive voice slightly more out front).

Although When the Wind Forgets Your Name is by no means revolutionary, it's still a refreshing, cool-sounding record, one that finds Built to Spill revelling in the past and looking clear-eyed toward the future, some 30 years on. That's no small feat.

Finnerty returns from these loftier reaches unscathed, allowing Honey to swing big without flying off the handle. Spread this one on your toast immediately.

Bark Your Head Off seem like a gamble, given its broader palette. It only takes a few listens to realize that it is really the fulfillment of the band's potential, though. ... Hop Along are truly a band at the top of their game.

That Richard Thompson has conjured these fascinatingly enigmatic yet clearly deeply personal words and melodies to match such refined, uncompromising music is a testament to his indisputable power as his generation's sturdiest warhorse.

Lest this all start to sound like homework, Rooting for Love has a glossy surface layer that’s as seductive as any dance floor banger — even brainiacs need rapture from time to time.

The Place I Left Behind is another wholly satisfying album that builds upon past successes and carries the band forward as one of the country's finest roots acts.

Oh No's beats run gritty, grainy and hard from start to finish, with tough rhythms and an expansive array of aggressive sonics darting in and out of each cut, adding much expressive flair to the beatsmith's heartbeat-raising, all-business attacks.

There is an earnestness to Habitual Levitations that has been absent on their past recordings, sacrificed in pursuit of the cerebral, which has always been present in their live shows and has finally made it onto record.

It's the fact that Disclosure make bookish, aurally factual electronica sound so carefree that makes Settle such an artistic success.

Lemay has reinvented Gorguts while showcasing their roots, as the immensely anticipated Colored Sands exceeds expectations and proves to be every bit worth the wait.

The ten songs here threaten at times to up and wander off, but Bare manages to hold everything together with some strong songwriting and unusual, borderline retro arrangements.

Music For My Friends is arguably Skyzoo's finest project to date.

You won't hear a more open hearted, impassioned and lyrically rich roots album this year.

Like the other entries in the series, Empire also offers up plenty of B-sides and demo takes for the completists, but laying everything out bare for us still doesn't exactly explain the West coast phenomenon known as Unwound.

The one flaw is that at times Frahm allows the songs to continue for too long, losing the flow of the album--particularly between tracks 9 through 11, but later as well--but that's a small concern. Otherwise, Frahm's Late Night Tales curation is a blissful, satisfying experience.

Jardín serves straight-up soul and funk with a pop sensibility. Garzón-Montano's vocals are solid and serviceable, the album production robust and efficient and the musical mindset supported by a strong level of craft.

For Play What They Want, Colpitts and Brooklyn-based ensemble TIGUE Percussion partner with some legendary guests, and the result is an expansive, writhing body of busy, ego-less playing delivered with a beating, beaming heart.