This rollicking outing confirms that his output and talents are just hitting their peak, with hopefully more to come.

Shaver’s deep, dusky, rugged voice is perfectly suited for this material.

New proves that inspiration is not a problem for Paul McCartney, who shows both his contemporaries and the youngsters alike how to make rich music while swinging for the cheap seats.

Beat Poetry Survivalists is a bold first step, and if some of the songs don’t quite hit the mark, it’s only because the two are intent on taking their partnership to certain extremes. And because risk sometimes leads to recklessness, a few missteps are not only inevitable but also forgivable.

Together, they make gorgeously sensual music, with essential contributions from Calexico trumpeter Jacob Valenzuela, pedal steel player Paul Niehaus, keyboardist Rob Burger and bassist Sebastian Steinberg.

All in all, this album works.

Existing fans will find enough to satisfy them, but newbies should choose from earlier Los Lobos works for a better understanding of what makes these guys so special.

Stitch Of The World contains a few songs that detail how those cracks were made and a few more that show them in the process of healing. The unifying factor is Tift Merritt, and that’s enough to make this one a keeper.

As bright and warm a guitar-based indie pop album as that [debut album, Gorilla Manor] was, it left a fair amount of room for expansion and maturity. On second album Hummingbird, that growth is readily apparent from the first track.

The 13 tracks are crammed into less than 40 minutes (seven cuts clock in under three), which also suits the group’s single-oriented, tightly knit aesthetic. It helps make Year of the Spider such a nonstop delight, one that casts its web by expanding and transcending Shannon and the Clams’ “punk oldies” moniker.

Because of the buzz behind it, Speak Now was destined to be a commercial success no matter what. Thankfully, the album succeeds on an artistic level as well.

Hypnotic Eye is a bastion of consistent excellence.

Ultimately, however, once you've gotten past the nagging feeling that you're not really listening to the Iron And Wine you thought you knew, you realize that you are, and that many of the songs are wonderful.

If you're at a different stage of life than she is, it can be exhausting trying to keep up with the succession of emotions to which she deftly gives voice, but also downright exhilarating.

All of this makes for a satisfying comeback for a cult artist who has several cults anxiously waiting his return. Those fans will no doubt love Dear Mark J Mulcahy, I Love You. Newcomers used to straight-line songs might want to try it out as well, because they might be surprised at how refreshing it is when a songwriter reaches his destination zig-zagging all the way.

The Nashville by way of Texas singer-songwriter ups his game for this self-assured sweetly melodic sophomore release.

A handful of rocked-up covers such as “Auld Lang Syne” and “Angels We Have Heard on High” corral these standards into the Old 97s’ careening, energized mindset, and even the cloying “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” gets a cool surfy makeover thanks to Bethea’s spaghetti western guitar solo.

While The Lemonade Stand offers mostly familiar fare, it also makes for a genuinely tasty treat as well.

Travis is to be commended for keeping the faith and coming up with another batch of quality songs that, if not their best stuff, isn’t far from it. But like the album’s unimaginative title, there’s little that pushes any of the band’s established boundaries into new and fresh sonic areas.

At their best, live albums serve to encapsulate a career. In this case however, What To Look For In Summer offers something more, an actual elevation to the accomplishment. Look… and listen. Summer is an album for all seasons.

Perhaps a few upbeat performances would have better balanced the all-ballad program, something Hynde could surely have pulled off without breaking a sweat. Regardless, what’s here displays her ability to inject a fresh approach to Dylan’s timeless work, revealing nuances of his writing that often get overlooked in his or others’ hands.

Often moody, intermittently lovely, if cautionary, set.

The musical leaps Punch Brothers takes are invigorating, sometimes breathtaking.

Bauer has been sitting on these feelings for over a decade, but he chose a great way to share them.

This is clearly for existing fans; those new to Oldham’s expansive, often confusing catalog are advised to start elsewhere. But if you are already converted to his stridently uncommercial musings, these once difficult to find performances make a wonderful addition to what is likely your already extensive Oldham collection.

In the end, Unrepentant Geraldines goes far to re-establish the sense of intimacy that won Amos her audience’s unwavering devotion; there’s a level of honesty characterizing the project that should jibe well with them, and she’s in confident voice throughout without ever sounding canned or over-calculated.

When Feels Like is at its best, it’s a reminder of how exciting it can be to plug into a distortion pedal and let it rip. In its lesser moments, that’s still more or less what it is.

Wise Up Ghost is a fearless, invigorating gut-punch of a record, one that never settles and surprises from start to finish.