While the Antlers may struggle to escape the shadow of Hospice's success, they have undoubtedly succeeded in making another spectacular, cohesive record.

There's casual grace in the band's winding and ultimately engrossing vibe and most of the earworms on the record stick like glue.

On Why Do the Heathen Rage?, Daniel has managed to bring the intellectual and the primal together for one big dance party.

It's a new band, a new sound, but the same old, marvellous songwriting. It's a killer combination.

This is a solid album more than capable of holding fans over until a second release.

The result is an unpolished gem of spiritual ambiance.

Bright Side of Down is everything a folk recording should be, with thoughtful lyrics nestled into well-crafted songs and simple arrangements that put the song first.

The textures here are even a little richer than before, the skill both more and less obvious (they have achieved that sought-after "effortless" quality), the dramatic ebbs and swells even more dramatic, the rock elements even more seamlessly integrated with electronic and orchestral arrangements and songs combining even more smoothly into a fluid whole.

Realized with the help of Bird's fabulous backing band, the Hands of Glory, the arrangements on Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of… are ornate and thoughtful, highlighting both the brilliant Americana song writing of the originals and the sweetly soulful execution of Bird and his band.

Nausea is the perfect lazy summer album with a hidden depth that slowly unfolds to reveal a work of sincere beauty.

Handling the production duties on What's Between is the Haxan Cloak, whose own cavernous soundscapes are perhaps the most metal thing in electronic music these days. The pairing is apt and the results are fantastic.

Love Me is a gorgeous album, through and through.

Sometimes sunny days need bittersweet soundtracks to make them better. Gold may turn grey, but not in the hands of this duo.

She's a straight shooter, and Trouble & Love hits right to the heart.

Copper Gone is definitely a high point in Sage Francis's already significant career.

On Luck, Vek has released some of the strongest material of his career; here's hoping there's still someone out there to pay attention.

Lazaretto will no doubt be heavily scrutinized by critics and celebrated by hardcore fans, but love it or hate it, nobody can call this stuff "watered-down."

It's possible to detect elements of jazz, '70s soul, hip-hop and electronica in McFerrin's heliocentric mix, but through his intentional blurring of the boundaries, he underlines his mastery of and ultimate disregard for genre categories.

Though less adventurous than on earlier work, Parquet Courts still manage to deliver a unique record that builds on the foundations of the past.

Animal Ambition showcases a very creatively confused 50 Cent, trapped in some sort of musical purgatory we can only hope he find his way out of.

[A] perceived lack of personality can't change the fact that Dalliance is one of the catchiest and most energetic guitar records of the year.

Heart-rending, arterial and woundingly authentic, As The Stars is a hell of a record to drop on Valentine's day.

A Series of Shocks shoots for a different kind of looping hypnotism but lands slightly short.

An impassioned record that feels like their most raw, personal work to date.

The songs--though sparely produced as usual--sound picked over, like they've been played too many times and have lost their fire.

Good To Be Home lives up to its title and is easily his best and most consistent release since Below The Heavens.

She may be the daughter of punk royalty, but with Twice, Hollie Cook cements her status as a principal figure in the UK reggae scene.

Black Hours could easily have been Walkmen-lite, but Leithauser's ambition to seize the opportunity, and eschew the obvious, results in an album his voice--and a number of his fans-- has no doubt longed for.