The band's fourth full-length, D, largely forgoes the breezy indie pop of last year's digital-only release, Last Day of Summer, attempting instead to usher jazz-fusion into the indie era. That's an improbable feat, but the rhythm section of bassist Steve Terebecki and drummer Josh Block lock in tighter than DNA strands, while guitarist James Petralli's progression can be measured in the group's instrumental catalog.

Radical rap, strained through absurdity and grotesqueness, Death Grips' fifth full-length effectively services--and disrupts--both punk and hip-hop.

Ceremonials is gorgeous head-to-toe, making grand statements with heavy syntax, but paradoxically, it's light as air.

Dessa's hyper-aware of her limitations, frolicking safely within the confines of her range, yet she delivers her best, most confident vocals on "Fighting Fish" and "The Lamb," both equal parts rap and singing.

Throughout The Nocturne Diaries, Eliza Gilkyson shapes a listen that's singularly thought-provoking.

Not quite a party record, Leave Me Alone fuels messy rock with sunny guitar lines.

If the back end didn't sag, this cyborg would be unstoppable.

Gogol suffers beneath ST!'s length and schizophrenia.

One can easily imagine these instrumentals finding a happy home at the National Air & Space Museum.

Seventeenth album from the freaky forefathers of California skuzz, A Weird Exits somehow captures Thee Oh Sees at their best.

The sophomore effort's growth lies in its outlook, which still churns restlessly under his melodic pull, with an older, more reflective tone defined at the outset on openers "Folly Cub" and "Two Matchsticks" and bleeding through the weariness of "Company Time."

Cook is never overpowered by Robert Plant or other cameos by locals Ben Kweller and Patty Griffin.

On her sophomore KRS LP with the Get Down Stay Down, she sorts out emotional laundry via foot stomps and soul-searching.

It all sounds like something you've heard before, but done better, faster, slicker.

While fifth disc Heaven Is Whenever doesn't break formula, it proves slightly more temperate and introspective without compromising big riffs.

If BS's LP titles sound so corny they're painful, Alex's POV remains imminently relatable.

Diluvia's narrative gets borne into worlds beyond ours, exploring space for new galaxies and life-forms.

The title track erupts like a "Seven Nation Army...." The rest is a mixed bag.

All the songs on Astro Coast, the 10-song debut from South Florida quartet Surfer Blood, hinge on the mighty riff. Guitarist John Paul Pitts' vocals are secondary, and the guitar compensates, weaving Built to Spill's guitar heroism into three-minute shards of pop-punk.

While all three songwriters shine, the most compelling aspect of these recordings lies in the effectiveness of the shading that each adds to the others' tunes.

Faithfull's voice is too witchy for some selections--that limited vocal range is the album's downside--but she nonetheless delivers indie standards with timeless emotion, poise, and grace.

Mason displays promise, but with limited range vocally and echoes of Ben Harper, Los Lobos, and John Hiatt in his song-craft, he hasn't hit one squarely out of the park yet.

Flute and sax make the grab bag more interesting, though the dizzying range across 11 songs renders Unlearn a bit unfocused.

Strange Little Girls won't resolve the perpetual nutjob/goddess debate swirling around Amos; there's plenty of evidence on hand for either point of view.

Drive North speeds with enough teenage angst and raw vigor to coalesce into an onslaught of gleefully twisted mayhem.

Though far from cohesive, the album instead showcases Carlile's range, and suggests she can conquer any direction she chooses, or maybe even all of them.

Love and Curses is a sound entry into the Sound discography, one Cartwright seems intent on tuning up.

It's a scattershot collection of rougher material, lacking the concision and continuity that made 2003's Down the River of Golden Dreams and 2007's The Stage Names such defining works.