It’s an album for a seductive but thoughtful loft party.

This is a solid half-hour of garage-y indie rock that is usually catchy, occasionally great, and pretty much always competent.

The band gathered its instruments for a retreat/recording session at the converted 1896 church Dreamland in Woodstock and produced a more concrete, rock-leaning sound.

The Family Sign finds Atmosphere back on his old level of sharp self-criticism, but the album is also a step forward for the whole group.

If Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was the band hitting its stride, then it’s likely that Bankrupt! is the music playing during its medal ceremony. It’s not a radical step forward but it’s not a regression either.

Their latest album, Voices, showcases more maturity and focus than their previous work.

Wrapped in layers of reverb and nonchalance, the ten-track release steps in a more layered direction compared with the sunny distortion played out on its self-titled EP debut last year.

If there’s something holding the album back, it’s that the band is almost too efficient and unforgiving in its editorial choices.

Through it all, Lekman's wit remains intact.

Much as it is a thrash-and-burn album, the self-titled release also hints at subtly sensitive undertones.

Krug won't make any new fans with Organ Music, but that's not what he's trying to do here, anyway. He's just having himself some fun-or, as he put it, "lurching toward" his musical ideas "impulsively."

Oak Island is an album that gets weirder and more confident as it goes along, slowing down and stretching out as it comes to a close.

Sucre Du Sauvage portrays the contrast between the two sides of Quintron's musical identity but ultimately unites joyful songwriting with his darker mad scientist persona.

There's a lot of heaviness swimming around this album, and though some songs, like "In The Grace Of Your Love" and "Miss You," play it lower and slower than your average dance jam, this is still a lively record.

Paralytic Stalks isn't an Of Montreal album stuffed with steakhouse jingles. But therein lies the charm.

Despite its psych-rock influences, the duo doesn't rely on a variety of instruments to convey the mood. Instead, the band doubles down on reverb, feedback, haunting vocals and doom guitar.

Blue Songs may not have an incredible single, but it does give you a collection of 11 solid songs.

Deerhunter wins more than it loses on Monomania.

2009's Dark Rift had its grating, overarching qualities, but Thee Physical sounds more streamlined; however, this album isn't polished to perfection.

From the first drum hits and piano chords of the opening title track, it's evident that this is a match made in black-light heaven.

Mainly, the band locks into grooves and reigns in some of the cackle of earlier releases, while wisely drunk-dancing in the under-four-minute mode.

Maybe Vampire Weekend is African-inspired indie rock and Fool's Gold is indie rock-inspired Afro-pop, but it's hard to deny their similarities.

Their sound is more pop than R&B or electronic, more domestic than futuristic, and more formulaic than innovative. But it works for them. It’s accessible electro-pop music that you can’t help but be smitten with.

If there’s anything missing from Goddess, it’s something that could set Banks apart from the lanscape of beats + vocals that’s so saturated today.

The Invisible Way may not be the most significant brick, but its sturdiness is something to be admired.

Musically the album is a quick burst of 11 bubbly songs that never take a dark turn or venture into a minor key.

There are enough outside influences here-kraut, new wave, post-punk-that the album, for the most part, manages to mark itself as a smart, sleek dance record.