A raw and solid debut, Basic Behaviour translates anguish into an intense yet catchy album.

Because it’s a soundtrack, where the music works in support of narrative and imagery, Atomic remains subdued.

Modern Streets brings the eerie emotional heft of psychedelic soul into the age of the personal electronic device, working on a small scale towards mind-expanding ends. Nicely done.

Abandoned Cities is gorgeous and disturbing and a bit chilling, like old photos hanging on walls about to be demolished, like memory, like loss, like loneliness experienced in the midst of family life.

The band allegedly recorded this one just for fun, with little intention of ever releasing it. You know a group has hit its stride when even its goof offs are worth releasing.

Despite being together for more than 35 years, their sound is tight and refined without sounding tired.

It almost as if Wire set out to make a concept album without actually calling it a concept album, so consistent is the sound throughout, and with subtly recurring melodic themes.

Though not for every taste, Felder has enough going on to be more than just aural wallpaper.

With a talented quartet of musicians in tow--Thompson, Shawn Camp, Bryn Davies and Kenny Malone--the acoustic setting provides newcomers with an ideal introduction and gives longtime fans further reason for ongoing appreciation.

The mix of blues, with their standard, folk and country is a nice addition, but may not be enough to win over folks who aren’t already Son Volt devotees.

The album is brimming with originality. There are hints of Sonic Youth, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments and the Swell Maps in the songs.

The London trio has hit its stride, churning meatier, heavier grooves without sinking into sonic muck.

El Pintor is not Antics or Turn on the Bright Lights, there are not as many immediate hooks and riffs that were present on these earlier releases; instead, the solid music on El Pintor unveils a nuanced mellowing that has taken over the last two releases from Interpol.

Don’t Tell the Driver is far too gorgeously personal, too hushed, too subtle, too free-rangingly ruminative to ever play out on a public stage. Instead its chaotic swirls, its muted flares of brass, its clackety storms and ebbs of drumming seem destined to play out in private theaters.

Only four songs on here but it's a good four songs.

Throughout, Holmes maintains a steady hand on the controls, never letting the stylistic shifts overwhelm the overriding ambiance, which is to revel in sensuality of synapse-stroking while riding the pure physicality of a full-on dance/rock record.

Given the jam-friendly group’s propensity for live euphoria but recorded disappointment, it’s a relief to hear that the Hiss has finally hit its stride in the studio with Water On Mars.

It’s the weird stuff that’s stirring on this non-native take on American folk and country, the eerie distortions that you get from being outside looking in.

All said and done, thumbs up on Polizze’s songwriting, the trio’s playing, as well as production work on Weirdon.

It has, not surprisingly, an elegiac quality, a mournful, melancholy cast to its elliptical phrasing. Like the first iconic first lady, the music is polished and well reined in.

Not all of the songs are hits ("Met Before" falls way short as a flat, unmemorable filler), but it's much more cohesive and really helps Chairlift establish a more recognizable sound.

Despite the obvious care for craftsmanship, no standouts emerge.

Modestly presented but expertly crafted, Incidental Hum does exactly what a solo album from a well-respected bandleader is supposed to do: show off a different side of the artist’s talent and provide plenty of entertainment in the bargain.

The result is a musical summit in which all assembled sound like they’re having a whale of a good time. Indie rock was never so joyous.

Deep, brooding and magical, The Starless Room is simply one of the finest artistic statements of 2016.

Over The Rhine have made their masterpiece at last.

She's taken a more reflective direction that emphasizes tenderness over tenacity and subtlety above sizzle.

The guitars still crunch as hard as ever, and Dan Peters’ drumming has that distinct set of accents that keep the anticipation high.