There are no head-turning licks or subtle details that take away from Callahan's ever-deepening purr. And when Callahan is at his most outlandish and personable, he's able to draw out the most emotion, made all the more powerful in spite of the album's limited sonic palette. If Callahan's finding himself increasingly unable to relate to other characters, he's using his music to forge a different path, inviting his audience to stand in his place.

It's a leap of faith fans of Forma's recent work should definitely take, and anyone with an interest in classically minded live electronic ensemble work should follow on through as well.

The band's natural tendency toward tightly knit pop music, combined with an increasingly evident and more fully realized awareness of their strengths, makes Shaky Dream a great release.

Queen of Golden Dogs is more than a collection of novel (or classical) ideas, as much as it's a assembly of gorgeously written and expertly arranged musical concepts, showing Vessel making some of the most clear-eyed art of his career.

His rhymes are so layered and rapid that they are all but indecipherable, giving them endless rewind value. These features make Bleeds a dense, dark, demanding listen. But patient, socially conscious audiences will not only find it compelling, but galvanizing too.

Quiet Signs is a breeze of an album that somehow hits you like a ton of bricks. Just another enigmatic turn for Jessica Pratt.

Man it Feels like Space Again stands apart both from their influences and from that other Perth group. That it also happens to be their best album is just a bonus.

For seasoned fans looking for their next fix of boundary-pushing explorations, this will likely seem a tad pedestrian, but SIGN is still an incredible piece of work, even if it's not bending the rules of music production into infinity.

Tape Loops is open and expansive, and finds Chris Walla leaving interpretation up to the listener. Is it sad? Zen? Contemplative? In any case, it's both a veiled and a starkly honest communication.

Martin cedes more of the spotlight to Brickell than ever, his strumming always sturdily present but rarely showy.... But Brickell also brings out the best in Martin, revealing his subtlest strengths.

Recorded in France and produced by Frames guitarist David Odlum, this is expertly crafted and lushly arranged folk-rock, with some pretty fabulous horns.

Helado Negro has managed to craft an emotionally powerful classic with This is How You Smile.

Guppy is a hyper, loveable, endearing, gritty, catchy romp through early 20s confusion, love, lust, travel and therapy.

There are at least two too many instrumentals, and songs that stand apart on their own start to bleed together near then end. But the ambition and execution can't be denied. This is the 1975 operating at the peak of their powers.

Korkejian moves buoyantly alongside bouncy instrumentation, determined to get somewhere, but willing to enjoy the journey along the way. And what a beautiful sounding journey it is.

"Let's Rock" is stripped-down, straightforward and ultimately, a blast. Not a single track meanders past the four-minute mark, bringing the band's best to the forefront: Fun jams chock full of Big Riff Energy.

Given time to breathe, to live, to coast, with Shade, Harris has found a new stream to navigate, but with distance, it's clear Grouper doesn't have to commit to one world or another to enjoy their comforts. Maybe we don't need just one Grouper either.

With CEL, nothing is simply uniform, which makes for a compelling listen every time.

On his third LP, James Holden establishes a sound wholly his own, allowing The Animal Spirits' gorgeous, absorbing and wonderfully unkempt mix of psych, jazz, folk and electronic to infiltrate the listener's psyche.

American Tragic was a mostly solitary passion project for Fortune, defined by deeply intimate confessions and burning affections that sear into the tracks both lyrically and sonically.

Her strongest body of work to date.

As certifiable members of rock royalty, the Pretenders hit all the right notes with this latest entry to their expansive catalogue. Hynde teases at the borders of the expected, without disrupting the core formula that has contributed to the band's longevity — unwaveringly authentic as ever.

The grandeur is all-enveloping here; a minor epic built from a surfeit of dissident spirit and Van Halen fanaticism. Don't let Mdou Moctar be the close-kept secret of suburban shamans the world over — this is pure Tuareg delight, palatable for all.

The OOZ also practices an astonishingly brilliant economy of sound, allowing only the most needed instrumentation to percolate to the surface, emanating and radiating: nothing is overblown; everything is necessary.

Cudi sparkles in the first two acts. ... While satisfying, the most endearing and powerful standout moments appear in the third and fourth acts.

What makes his debut so appealing is that Shepherd never sounds too rigidly loyal to any genre or sound, making Elaenia a fascinating and confident debut from a tenured rookie.

McCartney III is more than your average covers album — each collaborator stretches the skeletons of McCartney's songs into something new, making the album an unconventional collection of tracks that bypass the rules of genre and sonic cohesion. Few will enjoy every track on this album, but it's the versatility and diversity throughout these tracks that truly make McCartney III Imagined the record that it is.

Even Islomania's bleaker moments kinda bounce, refracting their darker sentiments in compelling ways. And in that, Islomania proves a lively, welcome return.