Deerhoof Vs. Evil is a stylishly composed work done from four gifted musicians who are more than happy to be sarcastically snarling at you the whole time.

While less in your face than his work with the Fresh And Onlys, the album stands its ground and ends on a powerful note.

The biggest caveat of this album is that the retro aesthetic mars Grossi's attempts at emotional connection--it tries to resonate, but by tapping into our memories of heartstrings and not our actual heartstrings, it falls short. But as production goes, it's a success.

David Byrne and Annie Clark (and to an undetermined extent, St. Vincent producer John Congleton) achieve a remarkable symbiosis on Love This Giant.

It's less bedroom, more band-centered than his previous work, but the music still feels uncomplicated.

The band plays it safe here, but after going way off to left field on its last release, this isn't a bad thing.

It's the motion of the album that compels you through it, leaving you with a need for some resolution in what the next track will bring.

If you were someone who felt stood-up by Yuck’s follow-up to their self-titled debut, Cheatahs will follow through on the promise that great rainy Saturday afternoon shoegaze isn’t all gazing into a rearview mirror.

For Mogwai, it works; the sound's grandiloquent and goddamnit, loud.

Songs will reward repeated listens, and firmly establishes Deptford Goth as a talent to keep an eye on.

Man Man has an image to uphold, and it does that while refining its focus. The group has moved forward conceptually but at times still sounds like the trained animals and clowns from the circus that ambushed the orchestral pit, and that's just fine.

Where the Beets lacks flair in its musicianship, the players make up for it in their singing.

With only eight tracks and a run-time just over half an hour, this debut is a light one but hits like a featherweight champ.

They were scratching at the surface of their emotional capabilities on their debut. With Hummingbird, Local Natives show that they can dig deeper.

There’s a good amount of experimentation here, and very few misfires.

It’s good right away, but it doesn’t make sense until later. Gist Is might take patience, but it pays off.

The story [House of Baasa] is a mix of glee and despair, and it fits with this album, a venture into the bliss and torment of matters of the head and the heart.

While many artists choose to play it safe on their debut album, Doldrums has decided to take us on an untidy journey into his own headspace. Lesser Evil is an unflinching and unashamed document of that trip, like a travelogue of a doomed vacation through Woodhead’s brain.

Refuse be fooled by the any cutesy pop leanings. La Isla Bonita is wonderful, but there are no all-inclusive resorts on this island.

This is a remarkably self-assured album, precise in its themes, particular in its language and modest in its ambitions.

Liberation! may not achieve its loftiest goals, but Bauer does manage to launch his solo career with talent and class.

A solid, ambling around, summer daytime soundtrack, rather than the numerous nighttime ruminators we’ve already been frequently offered this year.

Through the clever synchronization of spaced-out vocals and rambling drums, Poliça dispels psychological trauma in an easy-to-swallow, electro-pop pill.

Hauschka’s ingenuity to rework his instrument into a entire orchestra is astounding. But his ability to avoid the usual, overtly romantic notions of forgotten cities and instead replace it with a portrait of refined desolation is equally impressive.

Now we have Street Punk, less than 30 minutes of raw, hasty, goof-garage, with not so much as a coy wink.

His luxuriant loop-based instrumentation on display is easy to lose yourself in, making your life seem, for just a moment, much more epic than it actually is.

Every track on this album is relatable and takes us on an emotional journey through the steps of a breakup, which in Li’s interpretation seems to be frustration, pain and ultimately loneliness.

Although somewhat too sleepy at times, the album's journey of personal admittance uses the instruments strategically to ignite little bursts of hope and newness.