There's no denying that Departing is miles ahead of where the band was a year ago and while die-hards will love Hometowns for a long time to come, Departing is absolutely the band's strongest work to date.

Woodsman are at the very least an inventive group of musicians, but the balance between their songwriting abilities and their wilder excursions into improvised sound isn't quite equal, although this creates its own dynamic throughout the album.

Akron/Family II might be too scattered with divergent concepts to capture the attention of the masses, but in this still very young 2011, it should rank among the most ambitious and rewarding listens of the year.

Bardo Pond is not necessarily Avant-garde, but neither is it easy listening. It does however, defy categorization and perhaps with a little less unguided frenzy and a little more tempered structure would allow this reviewer to recommend it.

Like every other album, there are the trademarks we've all come to grow and love from the band and by the end of this, all of the most loving adjectives one could shower on an album will be spread all over The King of Limbs.

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 contains some of the finest work Earth has produced to date.

While it definitely is more static and sustain, you really need to turn this up, put down whatever else you're doing, and connect with it in the moment, as this is very present music. It feels like a refined version of his past esthetics, and is more intense for the limitations he has decided to work under.

Appropriately for an album called The Gathering, the esthetic Arbouretum achieves feels somewhat monolithic--overarching and whole instead of neurotic and splintered--and in this manner should provide healing properties for a psyche battered around by all the little specifics of daily life.

He's been able to continue on his path without compromising his talents or ability and with Underneath the Pine, this is now two outstanding albums in the span of just as many years.

The Go! Team makes sure to reach for the stars and they're certainly poised to simply get more well-known from here.

Sure, sometimes, House makes for an enjoyable listen--but when those little electronic beats come in, and when autotuned vocals slip into the picture, it becomes increasingly more apparent that Le Concorde--or at least House--isn't special, but it sure thinks it is.

For Janes, Say Goodbye is a shining force and testimony of the great resolute determination is; if this is what her version of soul is, the new and inviting experiments are surely welcome.

On Excerpts, as Ensemble, Alary presents a newly defined sound and with it, a precarious skill in honing in sharp classical strengths for a successful release.

There is a solid amount of quirkiness to realize and I Was A King surely have a knack for turning out strong songs but maybe next time a 'less equals more' approach would be more fitting.

In all seriousness, Wondervisions isn't hard to handle. There's nothing abrasive here to worry about, and the variation in structure and theme is exciting enough.

The album sways and moves in ways we haven't seen since 1998′s 1965. Dynamite Steps sits comfortably in his canon, and that is perhaps the perfect compliment.

There's a nagging feeling that Life Coach is a sketchbook instead of an art exhibit, and feels a little insubstantial at times. The album hits more than it misses, though, and makes up for the fact that it doesn't really have too much new to say by trading in an impressive range of styles while managing a moody cohesiveness.

Though generally a triumph, the album has a couple cuts that feel unsubstantiated.

Strong and very durable, the somewhat live album is an interesting release, with many free-forming ideas and passing blunders abounding.

Suuns have given us an unexpected bit of orchestrated but shambolic rock on this album, and because the band isn't afraid to try new things and put things together oddly we may be witnessing the birth of something grand.

Violet Cries, one of the more anticipated debut albums of the year, isn't a let down, but it's a difficult album to get a grasp on.

Clocking in at just a shade over an hour, Zonoscope is – as its cover art of Manhattan being engulfed by a waterfall suggests – a very surreal leviathan, an object that surely mesmerizes as we all wait for the oncoming Armageddon.

His vision of the album is similarly relational, and this debut brims with variety and skill, coming off with a complex personality at turns exuberantly earnest, darkly melancholy, and dreamily coy.

Kaputt is filled with light, sprightly textures, all pleasant and groovy, but the album still seems to lumber along with breezy but basic sequencer rhythms, indistinct melodies, and sax blowing similarly all the way through.

Compared to the wild noise they made on albums like Milk Man and Reveille, Deerhoof vs. Evil is definitely a different kind of wild noise all on itself. Don't expect the crazed madness of the former's title track but don't expect to be disappointed either.

Mondanile isn't rewriting any of the rules here, but he does show that he can stand on his own as a pop songwriter perfectly well, and frequently does so in an addictive fashion.

Such is the rich detail dispersed across Kiss Each Other Clean that it demands some intensive listening to absorb all of its pleasures, especially when the choruses are not as cleanly-cut as one might expect of such a well-groomed higher-profile release.

The King is Dead serves as enough solid music to lull us over until the next official album.

Relatively minor misdemeanours aside though, 1,000 Years is a respectable and rejuvenated return to the fray for Corin Tucker's febrile talents.

For the uninitiated though, this is essential listening for any member of the iTunes set; crafting your next playlist will likely turn into a transcendental experience after you hear how uncannily Drake goes along with Flock of Seagulls.

Popp has once again authored a unique and compelling work. How you decide to sort through it and work it into your own life is up to you.

Sitting down and listening to a full length album all the way through without outside interference is nearly impossible, let alone desirable. However, the solitary atmosphere and minimal elements of Admiral Fell Promises make it designed for just such a commitment.

Those who are desperately clutching onto the past few months' sunny days and starry nights – or planning for Summer 2011 already – are likely to dig the unpretentious, casual atmosphere of Eternal Summers. For everyone else, there's bound to be something else out there better suited to pumpkins spice lattes and fall harvests.

One of the most interesting and rewarding things about hearing the tracks as they appear on this release, is knowing that they are presented here in their earliest incarnations, Earth's chrysalis stage, if you will.

Picking through Blurry Blue Mountain in stages, there is evidently a decent fistful of individually strong moments but taken as a whole its meandering, undemonstrative nature does make it feel like a somewhat makeweight collection; one that will appeal to few people beyond the existing Giant Howe fanbase.

Intentional or not, The Inevitable Past is the Future Forgotten conjures up nostalgic moments with its overall demeanor. It's truly enabled Three Mile Pilot to possess an inquisitively solid sound and in the end, achieve the goal of fusing such memorable music together.

It lacks the consistency and unique feel that the original had in abundance, and lacks the quality hooks that defined his debut.

It is supposed to be shoegaze, and there is enough fuzz to justify the genre, but fuzz is not the good thing about this album. It's the melodies.

He covers an impressive amount of ground on Lucky Shiner, and the variety works in his favor. Perhaps he's missing a degree of originality, but what these tracks might be lacking in idiosyncratic branding will likely be made up for with a longevity of listenability.

Throughout Light Of A Vaster Dark there is an overriding sense of closeness and inclusiveness that draws you in and belies any accusations of pretentiousness that might otherwise come from straying into musical terrain far off the road so over-travelled.

Codename: Rondo showcases a softer sounding group and it's one that sounds neither confident, nor too amusing.

The styles that parade their way onto Swanlights would probably be the most noticeably diverse change from what happened on previous albums.

If you're an old, die-hard Kings Of Leon fan Come Around Sundown will upset you. Keep what you love about this band close to your heart and ignore this album, you'll thank yourself in the end.

While it feels great to have some undiluted Avey Tare material, he seems a little creatively restless here.

She's advanced from before and turned in a mirror translation of music from her personal life. The swagger comes in the form of knowing your strengths and for Stern, she's put all of them on display with Marnie Stern.

With a musical voice that is always travelling down a linear path, Foreign Landscapes is a spellbinding new journey into the wave of sonic explorations.

Write About Love may not be remembered as a seminal Belle & Sebastian long-player but its uncomplicated charms still make it an effective ephemeral pleasure.

What it Means to Be Left-Handed is just that: a diverse assortment of refreshing new music from a band that has already developed and progressed their chops. It's a joyful occasion and for Mice Parade; a loud celebration down the street, rodents and all.

Condors, is a restless, richly-detailed amalgam of intricate, glitchy electronic ambience, guitar reverberations that range from gently acoustic to furiously rockin', and ethereal to keening female vocals that recall Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Nicole Barille of mr. Gnome, and Bjork.

After all those years that people remarked and possibly, tried to shut him out, Stevens has returned with what just might be the best music he has ever crafted.

Overall, Bubblegum, is very much a triumph of restyling, that makes it perhaps the most necessary Clinic LP since 2000's Internal Wrangler debut. Perhaps however, it's also time that Clinic developed more as a songwriting vehicle, with singer Ade Blackburn making his vocal/lyrical presence more memorably penetrating.

Not a slow spreading psych filled with guitar soloing, but instead an orchestra of miniatures, Infinite Love presents a joyous world which is always bright and never boring.

As one of music's most consistent bands, their ideas continue to surprise and astonish on Halcyon Digest's soaring highs.

For those who found that record [Nouns] to be a trying listen though, it's unlikely that the duo will win them over with Everything In Between, another lean and visceral assemblage of songs that expounds on many of Nouns' most endearing qualities.

Sounds come and go but the inspiration and wherewithal to realize your own goal in tone is paramount. Women seem to know exactly what they stand for and in presenting it they've entirely outdone themselves, again.

My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky sounds more like the essence of Michael Gira than the Angels Of Light ever did, and ought to also serve as another broadside to the idea of reformations being inherently grubby and uncreative ventures.

This new EP is a terrific welcoming of fresh, new thriving music from one of electronic music's leading men.

As entertaining as it is, there remains a nagging notion that Grinderman 2 is ultimately another water-testing exercise to decide upon which seas Nick Cave will sail the full Bad Seeds line-up when it next reconvenes – now sadly minus Mick Harvey – in the studio.

Lisbon sounds like your typical Walkmen album. Laid-back and tempered at moments and jarringly stunning at other times, but never dull.

False Priest generally packs the kind of shock and awe that made 2007's Hissing Fauna such a delight. Throw in some deft work at the boards by one of today's hottest producers and a couple of guest appearances by notable female vocalists, and you've got one of 2010's most colorful releases. It's not for everyone, but that's half the fun of it.

Yes it's slower, darker and more pensive, but like the sun that breaks through the clouds to reveal a brisk sunny morning, it shimmers and shines with splendid, polished arrangements and even grander guitar-scapes.

Four long players into their career, you can't help but wonder if Interpol is just trying too hard to recapture some of that Turn On the Bright Lights magic. Either that, or the creative juices have been stifled by a rough turn of events.

Fans of The Rhumb Line are unlikely to go head over heels for The Orchard, but Ra Ra Riot's latest is still among the most clever and thoughtful indie pop heard this year.

It's sometimes hard to push past the (at times) seriously sappy lyrics and focus on the music. Fortunately for us though, Eels are the focused ones here and have proven once again their acumen for crafting quirkily moody pop songs that are impossible not to like.

The noises on Rivers, while off-beat, are more or less pleasurable, not testing the listener--instead introducing them, guiding down the increasingly sealed-off world the record builds for itself.

7th Symphony feels like an album that's 60% true artistic vision and 40% simply borrowed from the mainstream to fill out the track listing. If Apocalyptica can craft songwriting that's unique, mature and deep, they should include it on the next album. If not, they should just stick to the instrumentals.

All Delighted People is very succinctly, a superb masterwork from a musical genius--with plenty more greatness to come.

It's the sort of album which reaches back and forward in equal measure, applying what's known about past songwriting to invigorate the present day.

He over-thought most of the tracks, failing to maintain focus on or fully develop any particular theme. Various elements drop in and out at terse intervals, presenting an idea for just enough time to intern it before moving on. But El-P has always had a theatrical flair, creating music that transports you to another place and time, and several tracks here do suck you into his demonic hip-hop underworld.

Whatever it is, The Suburbs is nothing short of extraordinary; it's Arcade Fire's moment of clarity where everyone can stop and take notice because in the most frank of terms, this is also nothing short of a masterpiece.

Where The Messengers Meet might be the best MSHVB can do with their current MO, it's a remarkably compact album of emotionally-swollen, disillusioned folk rock -but you get the feeling that the band might be on the precipice of something much more titanic.

The consistent, unwavering quality songs make up for most of Jaill's derivativeness. It's pretty hard to write meaningful music out of such rooted conventions of guitar, drums, and bass, but That's How We Burn is engaging throughout, which is quite an achievement for a meat and potatoes rock band.

Infra holds its ground amongst Richter's finest pieces of music, movie accompaniment or not.

Secret Cities has an awesome album here. Every song is a standout, while keeping an inordinate amount of cohesiveness. Everybody should love it.

It's hard to dislike this album because it is capably performed and the sounds and voices work up a dreamy headspace, but it's also difficult to be really enthusiastic about it.

One or two of the tracks sound a bit forced in their arrangements, and I can only too easliy envisage a studio listing in which individual songs are prefixed by descriptions : (the Polka number, the Dylan number, the BRMC number, the one Tom Waits wrote, etc.) but this doesn't detract from the album, if anything it only enhances it as, with a significant part of the albums production process actually audible, and with the musicianship never less than wholly professional, it's difficult to find actual flaws in the project.

Expo 86 is a brilliant reinforcement of what occurs when true chemistry exists in a band.

From those opening, gorgeous, chords – their sultry delivery, their soulful demeanor, their jazzy glean, everything – signals that The Roots are back.

There was definitely a clear division as to what kind of album they were intending to make beforehand and it's brilliantly showcased all over. Further's opening two songs attest to this with a melting of new ideas that immediately signal a new coming.

Whether or not Part II: The New December is steadied and readied as an opportunity to cash in on winning success (they were featured in everything ranging as far as NPR and a video collaboration with the Laker Girls), this is another great compression of darkly layered pop and stellar IDM.

Total Life Forever is still thoroughly identifiable as a Foals album, their personality and songwriting quirks shine through even the thickest of creative haze--they're making pop out of art, which is a pretty good recipe for a young band.

Destroyer of the Void is a fitting reminder of what’s possible when you already have such a strong catalog of music under your belt: exceptional music that always seems to beautifully connect, no matter how varying the sounds may be.

Before Today is another fun Ariel Pink pop/rock record, more solidly constructed than any of his past efforts. Even more importantly, it’s also more joyously musical than most full-lengths that have been coming out in recent years, aware not of self and scene but only of the fact that music is fun and feels good.

It is instrumental rock music that is experimental, emotional, colorful, and engaging, while skillfully blurring many musical boundaries.

Putting to work every kind of noise you could think of--dub echoes, laser squiggles, slurring sludge, fractured voices, bass rumbles, innocent chirps, and so on--Splazsh is a feast for the ears.

There are a lot of moments that gently wash away, against the pushing drive of the other songs on the album. Segall mostly attempts to create different spaces of time and is able to make many of them work to his direct advantage.

The ghosts of some of the greats are there for sure, but in the end, This Is Happening sounds like no one except LCD Soundsystem.

Please allow yourself to get lost in its sweeping scope of wonder because it is definitely sprawling. But mostly, we knew he’d be diverse, we just didn’t know it would be this good.

Whether or not you love their music, Brothers represents a champion sound for the duo, one that covers all of their best strengths onto a terrific album; you can’t ask for a better present than that.

Through the different flavors of ice cream on here, The ArchAndroid: Suites II and III remains a proudly boastful album. It should be discussed by a lot of people and the love it's receiving is no fluke either: this is a skillfully talented artist.

Sea of Cowards, for all its snarkiness and caustic overtones, is ultimately a fun record, but it’s likely the band had way more fun playing it than I did listening to it.

It's exceptionally crafted, it's gorgeously composed and it's remarkably rendered by a band that might just be the very best we have today.

On the whole, Grey Oceans seems to be the same old thing. I wouldn't recommend this to a first time listener of the band.

Heaven is Whenever is not just a vast improvement from their last effort but it's also a fifth album from a band that still sounds surprisingly awesome and it's just another album for a detractor to listen to and hopefully, fall in love with--it's only a matter of time.

Flying Lotus has made the strongest album to date with his amazing collection of sounds, beats and instruments; as good as you felt after hearing the sheer brilliance of "Los Angeles."

The album finds the Vancouver collective making only subtle yet effective changes to the way it does business while the songs remain as sturdy and taut as ever; it's one of the most reliable releases you're likely to encounter this year.

At the root of all good music is a dying cause to tell a good story and Future Islands take that kind of attitude to heart with In Evening Air; there is nothing dismissible, or close to it, on here.

Lali Puna’s Our Inventions mesmerizes with wonderfully layered and intricately constructed electronic sound manipulations that are tastefully crafted into experimental pop songs.