It makes for an album that impresses without overstaying its welcome, but it's more than just the sum of its parts. Hidden History has a vibe, like something old and undiscovered. It's the riffs, the all-analogue recording process, everything. You breathe the atmosphere of this record when you listen to it. That's why you'll return to it again and again.

Labyrinth is a site for self discovery: a place to get lost in and emerge with a new understanding of yourself.

There must have been considerable pressure on Diamond to deliver with this album, and she largely does with Reflections — it really does sound like pop music from 15 years in the future. Hopefully a more substantial collection of new material isn't too far into it.

Everyday Life has more blunders than hits, but let's give Coldplay some credit — they've got a "go big or go home" attitude that's entertaining, even when it misses the mark.

An album that is layered and diverse in its sound palette and execution, with something for appreciators of the many different flavours electronic music has to offer.

Their sound is hypnotic and abstract, as though they're disassembling and reassembling songs and sounds as they go — and the result is a quietly, dreamily thrilling listening experience.

There is also a vibrato-drenched version of "Moon River" that seems more of an afterthought than a statement, but even that hangs in the air quite well. There is some pretty astonishing virtuosity as well as clear thought, and that's what sets this record and Orcutt apart from the excesses of technique. The man makes music as well as notes.

Although Bedroom Tapes isn't a great jumping off point to demonstrate what Special Request does best, tracks like the throbbing "Thermatropic" and the joyous "Double Rainbow" make this "forgotten" collection a worthy listen for long-time fans.

The work to weave so much together — and do it so well — speaks to Frisell's skill as a composer. His affable, warm nature seeks to connect people, sounds and ideas. On Harmony, Frisell seems to have found just that.

Although there may be a few too many half-baked ideas thrown around, as tracks like the hollow "Ujala" and the clunky "Bushy Bushy" demonstrate, 808 State nonetheless come off focused, confident and delightfully wistful on Transmission Suite.

The eight exploratory tracks make VOLUME MASSIMO an instrumental masterpiece that adds to an already incredible body of work by the gifted and skilled composer. If anything, it's too short.

Grandiose in its bite, depth and soul, Champion lives up to its name.

A Blemish in the Great Light is endlessly listenable. Because it is so complex, so wrought, it loses an overarching feeling to hold it together, something that might help it read as a whole, as opposed to good songs that are very well done. It'll be a great album to drive to.

Both his darkest and cheerful record to date.

Thanks for the Dance is a fitting goodbye to a figure who, whether they've been in your life for one day, one year or a lifetime, made a tremendous impact on their craft. A beautiful reprise to a song of love or hate. The pleasure was all ours, Leonard.

He masterfully delivers a snapshot of a disjointed, vibrant and inherently flawed system as seen through one of electronic music's longstanding visionaries.

It's a beautifully understated album with subtleties that reveal themselves on repeat listens. Hyperspace isn't quite what fans would expect from a team-up between Beck and the guy who wrote "Happy," and it's better for it.

While the sound splashed across Wrecked is quite gripping (exceptionally gritty electronic that heavily works the industrial angle), the lack of distinction within, and contrast between, tracks makes it tough to get behind.

That precarious balance between surrealism and sweetness, adept contributions and singular vision, and much more make I Made a Place feel like a must-visit destination — it's one of the best alt-folk albums to come out in years.

Amnioverse does still err, at times, on the side of industrial and abstraction, but is anchored in a softness rich in texture and weighty with emotion.

The remarkable feat of New Ways is the ability to both resonate with those who loved Twin Solitude, while also pushing tendrils out towards listeners in search of more versatility.

It all adds up to a cycle that is as complex as it is direct at times, describing the imbalances between moments of lucidity and desire, and what is lost or gained when one declares "let's get out of the romance."

Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes does not always work, but in the moments where it does, it is bound to sit in your stomach for a long time.

The quality of musicianship, lyrical content and melodies on What You See Is What You Get marks one of the top calibre country albums of the decade.

As a debut, it's undeniably a solid effort, although one that might be lacking in memorable surprises. It never reaches the highs of their hypnotic sets, but it's certainly a worthwhile listen nonetheless.

Both a departure from the expected modern/postmodern/future-possible sound he is usually credited with, but also an arrival at its very beginnings.

The only real drawback is that the album lacks the intrigue surrounding something as adventurous as their previous album. Daemon still has a lot to sink your teeth into, and fans of black metal and Mayhem should not miss out on it.

The intent, execution and expression is pure. But the ominous feel of the entire project overwhelms, in parts, with a forlorn sense of distance and dread — which appears to be the point — yet its subsuming sense of femininity, sexuality, free will and determinism paradoxically draws us in.