Aside from the overall atmosphere of the album, most of the time, Veronica Falls are spot on with their songwriting.

With albums as comfortable and likable as Twin Forks, there’s simply no reason to mourn Carrabba’s decision to give this new band his full focus for the time being.

11 tracks of stick-to-the-roof-of-your-eardrums music that sounds all at once immediate and laid-back.

Memorial is arguably Russian Circles' best work to date. It's certainly debatable, but this is undeniably an staggeringly strong output for a band on their fifth release.

Some will deplore the record for its relative lack of pop appeal, but for a massively popular band that has so often been derailed by its own lofty ambitions, there is a huge pleasure in hearing something that succeeds on such a small, modest, and humanized scale.

Take Care does a beautiful job of giving Drake the best group of features that complement his style while rarely outshining him.

This is the kind of record where everyone will have different favorite song, where what someone calls dull or overlong or indulgent will resonate perfectly with someone else, depending on that listener’s past musical tastes and experiences.

With Leveler, August Burns Red stays true to their sound while remaining fresh. The 12 tracks contain new dynamics and elements that are sure to please old and new fans alike, while Jake Luhrs' performance places him to the very top of best vocalists within the genre.

For such an expansive, detailed album, it can be hard to forget this is just his debut record.

While not every song is up to a "Moves Like Jagger" or "Payphone" standard hook-wise, the co-writers and producers never stopped breaking into new grounds for the band throughout the record.

"Summer Brings You Closer to Satan" would be an fair pick for the album’s best track, except that Runners in the Nerved World hardly falters in quality at any point.

As loud as What You Don''t See seems at first blush, it's really quite thoughtful.

Matangi can be looked at as a return to form, but it's more fitting to think of it as a "getting back on track" kind of record.

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.

Ultimately, Mayer Hawthorne has created his most complete and compelling piece of art yet, taking risks, experimenting, and looking to expand his already defined palate.

Tape Deck Heart may not be quite as good as the phenomenal England Keep My Bones, but it’s a quality release with excellent lasting value that will be a mainstay on album of the year lists in 2013.

On her debut album, Azealia Banks has established herself as a brash and crude personality both on and off record, and she’s complemented it with a competent execution of a bold artistic vision.

Maintaining the melodramatic indie that Stars do so beautifully, The North manages to channel every aspect of the indie rock spectrum, whilst creating a body of art that is perfectly coherent.

Burials is an album you’ll want to replay, especially as the days get darker and the weather gets colder.

Emotion goes to great lengths to prove the advantages of being manufactured, with every piece interlocking with machine-like precision with its surroundings. It’s astonishingly effective, and like the best pop, demands to be listened to ad nauseum in order to gawk at the sheer audacity of the accomplishment.

Heady Fwends, rather inexplicably, plays much like a proper follow-up to their 2009 mindfuck Embryonic, and their ability not only to bring a project like this together at all, but to make it work so cohesively and effectively, is as strong a testament as any to their genius.

You’ll sing along because it’s catchy, but you’ll push repeat because the lyrics are so personal.

Though Ty Segall often seems like he makes records at inhuman paces, Sleeper indulges his very human impulse for a good wallow, and proves that there’s more to the man than the distorted ripping guitars would make you believe.

While State Champs is not necessarily reinventing the idea of what it means to be a pop punk band, they’ve sure as hell perfected it.

Now the experimentation with electric guitars, even more electronic sampling and a focus on vocalist Becky Jacobs has brought Tunng to a paradise of exceeded expectations.

With her second proper full-length, Dessa has been cemented as one of the most important voices in not only hip-hop but all music today.

It’s disheartening that the album isn’t the game-changing record Fallon promised, and it’s too bad that it doesn’t have the thesis-statement cohesion of albums like The 59 Sound and American Slang. But the songs are still great, the production is still excellent, and the performances of the band members have rarely been in finer form.

These guys have created a pop-punk album that isn't timeless, but that's not the point. Wishful Thinking, by design, tells the story of a point in time, one that only has meaning because it won't last.