Nothing on Settle is left wanting. Disclosure’s debut full-length, after a series of tight and well-curated EPs, has high points as high as any record this year.

There's a studio slickness and a consistent attention to detail here-crisp hand claps, crystal-clear acoustic guitar strumming, clean drums-that most contemporary garage-rock bands have little interest in.

A solid road map of new found diversity and eclecticism is laid out throughout a large chunk of They Want My Soul, and despite the inevitable growing pains, Spoon really does seem poised to continue rising from the ashes of their near disappearance.

The music achieves a throbbing equilibrium halfway through each track, which makes it easy to zone out. So maybe this is just great zone-out music.

They’ve clearly set out to be innovators not duplicators, and Cold Spring Fault Less Youth is yet another one of their projects that crosses electronic music boundaries and produces something extraordinary.

A middle ground is still to be reached, but at the least, Plague Vendor is proof that even in these times of combos called Dancing, Girls, and the Teen Age, one can come up with an intriguing band name, matched to music that also begs for further investigation.

Cut 4 Me ends leaving the listener with a dizzying feeling and a cooly slowed pulse. Now we have expectations.

Burst Apart is smart and calculated without feeling as though you're being duped by artificial feelings.

Lese Majesty is a seriously weird album, but it succeeds in calling the genre’s current established order to question and challenging what it means for something to be considered a hip hop record, all while remaining sonically pleasing enough to keep the listener engaged with the ambitious message that Shabazz Palaces is adamant at getting across.

With one album completed under the new lineup, Harris and Seim show that they'll continue guiding Menomena in interesting, unpredictable directions.

Deerhunter wins more than it loses on Monomania.

James Blake transcends dubstep, and perhaps artificiality as a whole.

Full of memories and unanswered questions, Wyoming asserts a sense of limitless depth, as the duo’s members seem to have developed a greater understanding of one another than on their debut.

As depressing as it may seem for Defeater to tell a story with no happy ending, it’s only by confronting those feelings of disillusionment and hopelessness head-on that they achieve some sort of catharsis. Letters Home does just that.

An album that's incredibly incendiary and challenging (while still entertaining).

Some of the best parts of The Lion's Roar are when the Söderbergs harmonize together.

For the Chicago trio, comprising Nate Eiesland, Alissa Ricci and Ryne Estwing, its haunting yet beautifully bare album is a textural journey over new terrain.

The album’s strongest moments come when Felice settles on his deep, lush baritone and considers using it in favor of poetic lyrics or complex instrumentation.

This isn't a joyful album, but it's inviting and almost welcoming in ways that might surprise people who primarily associate the band with the alienating onstage antics of giant frontman Angus Andrew.

Those looking for simple, safe rock probably won't like The Plot Against Common Sense. But if you want to think while you thrash, give this one a spin.

Major Arcana sounds like a girl’s (or dude’s) animated beer-soaked bar vent and its crafty delivery makes it entertaining, therapeutic, and universal.

This music has deep roots, but Nabay's version of bubu is more contemporary and club oriented than folksy.

In fact, a lot of the album may be confused for being from another time period. But nostalgia works in the band's favor on this first release--even though it wears its influences right on its sleeve.

The songs here are too strongly crafted to be mistaken for the work of some teen slacker.

Though Le Bon composes in the dark, she shows us a lighter, quirkier side in CYRK.

They may not be particularly youthful anymore, but there's plenty of transcendence to be found on this record.

Despite reaching her eighth decade, Staples is making music that is strikingly modern, but the defining concept of the album is timeless: unadulterated hope.

Bradley’s sophomore album, Victim Of Love, burns hard and slow.