Neck of the Woods may not be album of the year material, but it's the best album in this band's catalog by a long shot.

Surely the best album (so far) of 2012.

There's a strong sense of pop hooks all over and with a rock vibe that is both heavily-induced and rendered, Segall and Presley have delivered a terrific debut.

Orcas, stays in the same zone [gauzy ambient folk], but edges closer to the sublime and harrowing atmospheres more associated with Irisarri.

Bloom is as fetching a record as any in Beach House's growing canon of work.

Absolutely stunning... One HUGE startling success.

With amps that are allowed to breathe with static and reverb, drums that clatter against a harsh delivery and with vocals that are unhinged and undeterred, the 'raw' adjective is a fitting superlative.

The way the EP grows from song to song--with a seamless flow inherently added midway through creation--Silent Hour/Golden Mile never ceases to impress.

This new album capitalizes on many of the singer/songwriter's strengths with songs that support his abilities.

Grand Hotel is remarkable not just as a present day artistic piece, but also as homage to what many people consider the greatest music ever made.

Everything about Staring At The X is tightly controlled and composed, from its guitar chords through its electronic bass lines right up to the mixing board pyrotechnics that propel the songs forward.

This album is too good to dally over, because it's so good, jaw droppingly good, not a false note in the bunch kind of good.... Record of the year stuff.

Thirteen tracks of exceptional music and a clear-cut success for Boucher.

Out of its many blues like qualities the one that I see potentially defining the album as a whole is its rawness.

Both Lights goes a step further in cementing their reputation as one of the Pacific Northwest's best kept secrets.

Elephant & Castle is refreshing, and its an extremely impressive solo project.

I cannot overstate enough the cross genre appeal that is contained within Sentenced to Life. There is literally enough here for everyone; while it lacks a black metal vibe I feel it would still be relevant enough for those that jam out with corpse paint.

The freshness of these subversions reveal spaces you didn't know were there, and achieve a rare expansion of the vocabulary of music.

The attention to detail Bevin is known for sounds invitingly open on Kindred and the ending fruition is a thrilling success.

All in all, Foreign Body is a very rewarding and promising collaboration for fans of the more emotive side of droning ambient music.

Focusing on the music and what's happening within and around it – enables Hive Mind to deliver a truly excellent aural experience.

Whatever the band loses in spastic energy and volatility on Zoo, it gains in melodic constancy.

It's this sort of wide-eyed optimism [heard on "Near Death Experience Experience"] that lends Break It Yourself immediate appeal.

A hell of an album that reveals further treasures buried in the mix with each listen.

Interstellar may not be the most enterprising album released this year, but there won't likely be another one that so cogently captures the celestial side of an era [the 80's] known for its excesses.

On the whole, it's a winner, and you can take the singles and run with them--the play be damned.

Sleigh Bells' sophomore LP is unlikely to be met with the same peerless adulation as its predecessor, but Reign of Terror still seduces with an uncanny knack for extracting a pioneering spirit out of musty source material.

As Perfume Genius, he's [Mike Hadreas] developed a strong second album with Put Your Back N 2 It, a modestly personal release.