Largely, (III) is an excellent album. Crystal Castles have not just recreated their first two records, they have developed as a band and their sound has morphed greatly.

The anxiety-ridden sound of Kveikur is the best the band has produced since their breakthrough album, and seems promising to yield only more rewarding results in the future.

Very much a step forward from last year’s The Coming Tide, Everlasting Arms is a sterling effort from an artist who fully understands who he is and what he is and is absolutely loving every minute of it.

Echoing themes that bubble beneath the surface of all his work both with TSMZ and Godspeed, Menuck spins vitriol and tenderness, desperation and hope into a narrative that is both vivid and somewhat frightening.

The band has sprinted forward and earned an Olympic title of the "P" word. I Was Trying to Describe You To Someone is going to turn heads and only gain more respect and fans in the process.

Foundations of Burden is the sound of an already excellent band reaching their potential, and in the process setting a new standard for the genre.

Almost Everything is a triumphant, forward-thinking and near perfect effort. With a disc this good, the piano-pop genre just might have its new hero.

Sure she's unconventional, a bit puzzling but in the end she is undeniably rewarding and compelling. Hell, come to think of it, Hunting My Dress might be one of 2010's most pleasant surprises.

The album has the feel of a stopping-off point of sorts for a band an evolutionary path, headed toward an even higher level of greatness.

Not only is The Powerless Rise As I Lay Dying’s heaviest album to date, it also features a splendor not heard on past releases.

Aside from some quirky song titles, there's little about Land of Talk that's abnormal. In the end, they're just solid all the way around.

Helplessness Blues is one of the few things reminding me that behind the liquor stores and condominiums is a little freedom and a lot of hope.

In a word, Pablo is fun, and it’s fun in a way that a Kanye album hasn’t been in nearly a decade, since Graduation’s pop-rap coup marked his commercial peak.

Burst Apart retains all the band's compositional prowess and aural splendor, but it's also a record we can truly celebrate.

Hebrews isn't the return to form listeners may have been expecting from Say Anything; instead it's something entirely better.

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.

Marriages created a ride not worth getting off until it ends.

Contra is still a Vampire Weekend album and it's certainly one that past fans will presently like. It may be less vigorous, but only if you're searching the surface.

John Legend and The Roots have followed the most important rules when covering material from other artists: you need to keep that signature sound that made the original important, while also adding that something special to make it your own.

Top to bottom this album feels like a classic; a show stopper. No thrills, no cheap tricks and gimmicks.

In and Out of Youth and Lightness is not going to be an album for the impatient. A few listens are needed to soak in every layer this album has to offer.

Hands Of Glory is yet another right step in a discography which is yet to falter or fail. This is as essential as a bits and bobs album comes.

For near-perfectly executed indie-pop, we the lucky listeners don't have to wait for a "next time." Cults have struck gold the first time out.

Without a doubt, this is all a lot to swallow, especially for long time fans of the band. Pure pop escapism this isn't, but as proof-positive that a band can evolve into legitimate artists without resorting to navel-gazing, it's wholly triumphant.

Human Hearts, their new fourth album and first release in almost four years, is no exception, and in fact may be their best work to date.

Garden Window shows how a band can be just as destructive without cranking ones volumes up.

The Whole Love is much more encompassing of everything vital in the Wilco catalog, the twangy, the noisy, and yes, a little of the leisurely.

Make no mistake, Indestructible Machine is the sound of promise, the sound of hope and ultimately the sound of something truly special unfolding.