Untethered Moon is arguably the most enjoyable Built To Spill album since 1999's pivotal Keep It Like A Secret.

At times curiously familiar, Sylvan Esso exists in a sphere not a million miles away from other pop/electronic hybrids such as Blue Hawaii, Purity Ring and Austra, but what impresses most here is the quality of the vocal melodies as well as the attention paid to carving out solid low end frequencies, a trait sadly ignored or fumbled by most other indie-electronic hybrids.

In joining the "real world," he's crafted his best album yet.

Golden Sings That Have Been Sung is a personal best for Walker, innovation for the genre and in general, just a damn good listen.

The first half of Spare Ribs is actually quite slowed down and weird, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't complement Williamson's vocals as well. ... The title track and "Thick Ear" absolutely steal the show. Sleaford Mods have shown they can do it slow, but they're still much better when they floor it.

Stripped-down in concept, and impenetrable in execution, I've Seen All I Need to See is perhaps the purest summation of the Body's artistry. Harnessing the core of their heart of darkness, King and Buford continue to blaze trails with immersive antipathy.

There is self-deprecation and honesty to In an Open Field that combines with musical prowess to form a thoroughly enjoyable, thoughtful record. Few writers possess the melodic ability and communicative skill that Nicholas Krgovich does. He remains one of the finest pop songwriters along the coast.

All Sadies albums feel like instalments in an ongoing saga of an incredible band who've been playing forever, and Northern Passages is no exception.

Each song on Ataraxia/Taraxis is diverse, with moments of melodious prog-rock, powerful riffs and hazy ambience; however, there's also cohesion to the EP that makes it feel expansive and utterly epic.

S/T isn't a continuation or reprise, but a reinvention. But either way, as far as '90s Polyvinyl reboots go, this makes two hits and no misses.

Blood Bitch won't reward casual listeners, but it offers plenty to those who want to get a little lost.

Sullivan is often overlooked as the R&B master she is, but her latest project displays the vocal range of legends before her, demonstrating her ability to capture the qualms of life and love relevant to the realities of dating in the age of the internet.

Fans of King Gizzard's earlier material may have trouble stomaching the bubbly nature of Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, but just as fellow Aussie psych band Tame Impala did with Currents, sometimes you simply need to take a chance and put out something unexpected--that the flutes on nearly every track end up working is just icing on this sweet cake.

Well-crafted and delightfully infectious, The Courtneys II is a sequel that surpasses their already-great original.

These re-workings reaffirm her as a tour-de-force and an example of a truly one-of-a-kind musician whose music stands at the crossroads of high art and popular music.

With this album, the Parenthetical Girls position themselves as pop craftsman with depth.

With Weird Faith, Diaz manages to toe a wonderful narrative line, with all the excitement and trepidation of a new relationship perfectly captured. The deeper you get into the album, the more like you feel you’re living inside her head — it’s a journey worth taking.

The band's evolution on The Violent Sleep… keeps them one step ahead of all those who have been trying to catch up, making Meshuggah as powerful and proficient on the cusp of three decades of existence as they always have been.

Lodestar is true to Collins' roots.

He has picked up the promising pieces from his last release, putting together a distinctive and more ambitious sound. Jenkins' hero, Scott-Heron, would certainly be proud.

A set of tapes wound with energy, suffusing the record's calculated structure with flashes of organic movement.

Anchored by the cinematic piano compositions of chief-songwriter Hazel Wilde--who seems to have learned vocals from the Bilinda Butcher School for Barely Audible Singing--and the ambient excursions of lead guitarist Paul Gregory, rarely has an album about England's eroding economy and cultural upheaval sounded so exquisitely triumphant.

Forever Endeavour is indeed a humble record, but as with its touchstones, the album's power lies in its simplicity.

Although the compilation only runs at a short 66 minutes, it's the pure quality of music involved, paired with the gorgeously laid-out extensive 44-page booklet included (filled with photos and obsessively researched liner notes), that makes Pop Makossa a must-have for fans of African music and disco purists.

On Power, Lotic shows that there are no boundaries and no blueprint to their craft, both musically and conceptually.

While the noticeable shift away from death metal may discourage some, Coma Ecliptic succeeds in pushing Between the Buried and Me's creativity in a new direction, avoiding a simple rehash of their winning formula.

Skeleton Closet is an album of songs that are thoughtful, catchy, carefully hopeful.

On her sophomore effort, The Golden Echo, Kimbra hasn't reined in her sonic exploration (where else would you find ex-Silverchair singer Daniel Johns and bassist Thundercat as primary contributors on the same album?), yet there's a more cohesive feel to the project.