On their Bloodshot Records debut, the sextet have stepped up their game and have announced themselves as one of 2015's most important alt-country efforts.

The songs are still great, the live shows will still be raucous, and as evidenced by fiery album closer, "Til I Do It Again," Hoge's still got plenty of rebel left in him anyway.

Everything here is well thought out and meticulously executed, it's just that Matsson makes it all seem so effortless.

With so much going on in these songs, they could easily have become overstuffed, but Moulder balances everything perfectly, creating a swell of sound that surrounds you with its hugeness, but doesn't lose clarity in the process. Suffice to say, this is a record that demands to be listened to on a pair of good headphones.

The Room’s Too Cold may have the memories, The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path may have the ambition, In Currents may have the excitement, but Imbue is the best album that The Early November have ever released.

+- stands up to all of their previous records easily, and while there aren't any major shifts in their trademark formula, it is another step forward in the ever expanding career of the danish band.

At this stage in his career, he is firmly focused on doing whatever he and his band want to do. That kind of artistic freedom should certainly be applauded, one just wishes the results were far more satisfying.

Instant Gratification is impressive and for the most part feels like a strong return to form for a band that's well adjusted in its own sound and aura, as Dance Gavin Dance continue to be an anomaly in a mostly tired and boring scene.

Even if The Damnwells feels a bit anticlimactic as a big reunion album, even if it isn't quite as good as either One Last Century or No One Listens to the Band Anymore, and even if it could have been improved substantially through the addition of a few more EP songs (particularly "Along the Way," a bittersweet Boyhood parallel that stands as arguably the best song Alex Dezen has ever written), it still largely succeeds on its own terms.

It's a version of All Time Low that not only has zero interest in moving past its pop-punk roots, but is embracing them with more vigor and pride than ever, laying the groundwork for punk bands that imagine a world where "maturing" doesn't mean leaving behind what you grew up loving.

There are far less cringe-worthy lyrics, and a sound that seems far more natural for the band as a whole.

Strange Trails is brilliantly paced, and each song itself is brilliantly paced.

Malin has always been a talent, but here, he parlays everything he does well into a single 45-minute burst, and he reaches his pinnacle as a result.

This album is perfect for those days when you just want to keep to yourself, when you feel like no one can be trusted. It's for anyone who has ever had the desire to forget their responsibilities and just make some damn music.

At its core, Kintsugi takes broken pieces and finds ways to put them back together into something new.

Carrie & Lowell leaves everything on the table, and as a result it's the most open, transparent and heartfelt record Stevens has made in his career. Sometimes, that's all you need in order to make a masterpiece.

Few rap albums are this smart, this detailed, and this concerned with its culture. It's the kind of record that could easily collapse under its own weight, but is repeatedly hoisted up by the impenetrable musical foundations.

It's the sound of a veteran band coming back to the game without missing a beat, and churning out some of their best, liveliest, and catchiest material in the process.

On the whole, American Beauty/American Psycho is Fall Out Boy's most consistent and bottom-line best album ever.

Of the 12 songs on the album proper, Sean is left to his own devices on less than half of them (two of which are the intro and outro), and the first signs of wear on the album come as soon as one of his solo joints succeeds another.

If you just want another batch of Torche tracks, some of which stand up to the best in their discography, then Restarter will prove to be a worthy addition to the Torche catalog.

As it stands, its hard to call anything on this album an evolution, since many of the tracks feel like they're just more beefed up but far less interesting versions of what they gave us on Shrines.

If You're Reading This It's Too Late comes with all of the baggage and experimentation a mixtape brings while managing to surpass the quality of most artists' output.

Then Came the Morning is still a solid next step for a promising young band. The songs are catchy and memorable, the musicianship is impeccable, and the production... well, suffice to say that Aaron Dessner should soon find himself an in-demand producer in the folk/Americana world.

Whether Murder by Death ever gets the credit they so richly deserve still remains to be seen. But more albums as dominant, complete and enriching as Big Dark Love probably won’t hurt their cause. In an era dominated by singles and ample amounts of filler, it is a delight to hear an album as engrossing as this.

The majority of the songs on Hyperview sound very, very similar. Those two songs are different enough to differentiate themselves from the rest of the album, but most of them aren’t.

Best of 2015? Maybe not, as Cloakroom could do well to add just a bit more variety to their sound. Nonetheless, they’re off to a rather auspicious start, as Further Out refines positive aspects of their debut EP and ups the production value immensely.

For those who are willing to go in without preconceived notions, this album is a masterpiece: a stunning feat of songwriting depth, emotional maturity, and melodic effortlessness that stands as one of the best albums to come out in years.