Die-hard Windhand fans won't be disappointed by Grief's Infernal Flower, and new fans mind find it serves nicely as a jumping off point to get more familiar with the group's material. Either way, it's an excellent addition to a record collection for doom fans everywhere.

Though Khan has grown with the responsibilities of adulthood, he has obviously retained the ability to produce fun, high energy tunes with ease.

The Loud Silence finds the producer showcasing his boundless creativity while working within a self-imposed, limited framework. Once again, he's come out successful.

While continuing to work in the box they've created for themselves, Yuck come across as far more amorphous than many first thought while still making an album that delivers on the promise of their shambolic debut.

The overall tempo has slowed, allowing for more instrumental variation and a chance for the band to explore the new musical terrain (which they thoroughly do).

For now, this new album stands as a kinetic encapsulation of heartache, and a strong showcase — for not only this exciting Toronto duo, but also many of their local powerhouse peers like Reyez, May and PARTYNEXTDOOR.

This back-and-forth is carried along throughout Arca, demonstrating that Ghersi hasn't lost his fondness for tempered electronic cacophony (see "Castration" and "Whip"), but has expanded his palette, to mind-bendingly gorgeous results.

The Ash & Clay is an album sure to become increasingly meaningful with time.

The result is Deep in the Iris, a musical mash-up of acoustic and electronic influences that's both achingly vulnerable and tentatively joyful.

The Dream Is Over has no pretext or pretence; the band did what they did best in 2013, and then did it a bit better here.

It's a very welcoming album that will please Pastels fans, and hopefully find some new ones.

More nuanced and compelling than the Watts native's underrated debut, 2011's Follow Me Home, Jay Rock's zip code-titled effort should be copped for the first Black Hippy posse cut since 2012 alone.

Colleen continues to craft uniquely personal experimental music with a clear artistic voice, and her latest release might be her greatest achievement yet.

Rays of light shine through on the glitzy, sparkling "So Clear," where she realizes after "ten thousand days" — as in, the late-twenties — fucking up is necessary to incite change. At this point, Folick looks back at the first half of the album with a fresh, wisened perspective. In doing so, it feels euphoric to see the extent of her growth.

Unraveling is cut from a richer, darker cloth than their earlier works, making it a bold departure and a tense new direction well worth exploring.

This is clearly their best work to date.

Tejada's Signs Under Test comes across differently--there is a timeless quality to the album, one that suggests it will still be as relevant and appreciated long after many of its contemporaries have faded away.

A great, often excellent effort containing at least a couple outstanding moments that see Future Islands really crystallize as its best self. There are some overly familiar moments and the album essentially offers more of the same, but it’s arguably their best work since Singles, the group’s still-reigning high-water mark.

A much more risky, expansive and intriguing listen [than Long.Live.A$AP].

She's a straight shooter, and Trouble & Love hits right to the heart.

With Human Performance, Parquet Courts have managed to cram in a lot. Lesser bands might have made a mess attempting a project like this, but what separates Parquet Courts is their adaptability and understanding of the subject matter.

Recorded live with no overdubs or loops, Never were the way she was is a perfect blend of Neufeld's violin virtuosity and Stetson's outside-the-box approach to saxophone and clarinet, their styles complementing yet pushing each other to new heights.

High As Hope is a welcome chapter in Florence + the Machine's career. Welch is writing reflectively but with a firm rooting in the present; singing with clarity about life's biggest questions as she and her fans continue to figure it out side-by-side, in both the loud and quiet moments.

Tracer is a complete LP that's unified yet fluid, providing a full club experience for those who choose not to leave their bedrooms.

Duffy relinquished control and precision — and perhaps loneliness — in favour of something more immediate, striking, and impulsive. The resulting six-song record has a looseness to it that celebrates the uninhibited power of spontaneity and invention.

The music is troubling and absorbing, a fascinating progression of textures and tones, telling the lugubrious narrative through remarkably tactile sound.

The songs are more interesting and less formulaic, akin to the approaches of Q and Not U and No Knife.

Kvelertak aren't creating any surprises on Splid, they are simply doing it better than they ever have before, showing they are greater than all the individual parts of their sound.

Musically, it takes listeners through a dystopian dance-floor dream universe, with the shiny but comforting hand from its cover as our guide.

Brutalism finds Pierce at his most confident, musically, but his most vulnerable, personally. He's able to explore new sounds without worrying about expectations, and open up about emotions that he's never touched on in his music before.

This is a release worth snapping up on vinyl when it finally comes out.

Love in Constant Spectacle features all of Weaver's strengths and none of her (very few) weaknesses. There's a kind of magical play here that conceals the emotional weight the album continuously heaves skyward, any evidence of the effort smoothed out in the subtitles.

Freed from the studio sheen that bogged down much of the material in the post-Berry years, the songs are given the room they need to breathe, and make a case for R.E.M.'s second act being filled with overlooked gems.

With Toral's help, rousay has presented a musical vision that is newly inviting while retaining all of the elements that have made her music so special

Taken as standalone stories, they're almost brazenly mundane; considered as a whole, Somewhere paints a picture of the small pleasantries and anxieties of everyday life.

They've always had an ear for melody, and here, the shimmering soundscapes put that gift on full display. The result is a compelling, immersive addition to the Beach Fossils catalogue, an effort that chronicles a band truly freeing themselves and expanding outward.

Continuing to navigate everyday life experiences with insightful wisdom, reimagining biblical language with more universal interpretations.

The album brings the dead back to life with the best kind of dark thrash, which is dripping with West coast hardcore aggression.

A little more understated than her recent collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, who similarly wrote songs and produced them for Staples, We Get By is still a gem and Mavis Staples and Ben Harper clearly hit upon something special in working together.

His predilection for marrying sublime pop melodies to bombastic arrangements laced with classical avant-garde flourishes has reached a new level of focus, and, resultantly, potency, on Jackrabbit.

Owen's second album is nonetheless a triumph of soundscapes, an album not meant to analyze and decipher but to daydream, sleepwalk and stargaze through.

On Like the River Loves the Sea, Joan Shelley proves she may be the only active musician who can surround herself with collaborators and sound exactly like herself.

Pleasure and happiness live alongside unease on Lost Girls. Khan is able to pierce through the darkness while still honouring it, and in doing so, acknowledges the validity of her emotions.

Meshuggah haven't returned to impress anyone but themselves. This is the music they like playing. It just happens to sound unlike anything else in metal. After 30-plus years in the game, Meshuggah have neither quelled their thirst for tectonic frenzy nor dried their well of dexterous musicality.

The band have once again found their sweet spot.

Though not every song on this overlong album is a winner--if the band has a weakness, it's in crafting enduring melodies--the bright, instinctive performances more than carry the thinner material.

Righteous indignation has long fuelled OFF!, but Wasted Years is the band at their darkest and most venomous.

This Norah Jones is damaged, dangerous and vulnerable, and Burton's mastery of sound helps deepen the relationship between listener and song.

This is not exciting music; it's a hypnotically paced political screed.

ANTI is perhaps her most complete and confident record to date.

Overall, Murs' tenth solo album showcases why he's had a long career with a dedicated fan base, and adds another pin to the emcee's decorated lapel.

The Hum Goes on Forever finds the Wonder Years doing what they do best and doing it a bit better each time, all while raising the emotional stakes to make each record feel newly important.

Nighttime Stories is the most memorable Pelican album since 2009's What We All Come to Need. They're showing no signs yet of slowing down yet.

Bloom leans heavily on that push-and-pull dynamic and the results are hugely effective, affecting and ultimately beautiful.

The Switch, in its entirety, is full of beautiful resonances.

On Magic Mirror, Charles may be self-doubting and even gloomy at times, but she never loses her glowing spirit and hope for the many more adventures her life will lead her on.

Russian Circles' fifth studio album has a bolder, more polarizing sound than previous efforts.

On their debut, they don't seek to out-pummel other contemporary hashers with speed or heaviness; rather it's on the golden fields of mood and groove where they excel.

With this hugely energetic disc, consisting of eight tunes in 32 minutes, Early Graves have proven that they can survive a horrible catastrophe and continue to make great music.

While it would be difficult to top their classic releases, it stands nonetheless as an achievement that Obituary could create such a vibrant and energetic album this far into their career.

While more uptempo than his fans may have been comfortable with in the past, the project has a noticeable sense of growth and maturity about it. Coupled with incredible production, The Wild reaffirms why Raekwon's been so revered all these years.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back, better than ever and ready to "suck your blood."

It's a feat of musical arrangement and of lyricism, sure, but in essence, it's the songwriting on MCIII that really makes it such an achievement.

There's an overwhelming lightness to Concrete Vision, even when the lyrics veer into darker territory on tracks like the rippled ballad "True Love" or the title track. The comforting timbre of Kramer's voice keeps the vibe mellow and even-keeled, a lifeline throughout the record's changing synth textures.

At only 22 minutes, Cut Your Teeth is a head-spinning rip made for repeated plays. Listeners are guaranteed to rage and laugh at the same time, every time.

Bring Me the Head of Kyle Bobby Dunn is Dunn's best work to date, consisting of a solid two hours of minimal, emotive, ambient drone that should appeal to fans of Stars of the Lid and Brian Eno.

Its production quality is equal to Two/Three, but it contains few surprises for older fans. As such, it isn't much of a progression, but it does feel greatly satisfying, and not only for the comfort of finally completing the trilogy.

Despite being on the shorter side for an album release, Juice is carefully composed; it might not necessarily be a groundbreaking new release on the part of Born Ruffians, but speaks volumes in its playfulness nonetheless.

The Chicks have always had strong backbones, and Gaslighter shows that their conviction hasn't faded in their time away – if anything, they've only become more indignant, more willing to explore, more ready to speak. It's an inspiring, swift-footed return.

A meticulous songwriter and producer, Jordan Rakei has opened up his sound with Origin, extending an invitation into a highly creative mind eager to deepen the bonds created with his listeners.

As an album, >> is twice as great as its predecessor.

Blissfucker is not quite as perfectly crafted as Darker Handcraft, trading control for the broken and the strange, but though the results are less even, the finest work on the record still finds Trap Them at their very best.

With Physicalist, Forma have issued a gorgeous statement that extends beyond being a culmination of their previous work. This LP is an example of a collective approaching its zenith.

Clearly he is awash with new inspiration, and has absorbed it successfully, because it's hard to recall an artist in recent memory who has revamped their sound so boldly and successfully as City and Colour has on If I Should Go Before You.

Rose Mountain could be the album that finally brings these hardworking punkers to a wider audience after nearly a decade of existence, and it would be well deserved.

The first two-thirds of this album are nearly flawless.... There are a couple of stumbles down the backstretch, though.

The constant vitriol is made scarier by his choice to rap in a stuporous, incantatory monotone. The music here--forbidding snares, honking staccato keyboards--is same-y but effective.

Cellar Door seems to have given the Underachievers space to breathe, think and spit the transcendental lyricism that set them apart in the first place.

Joe, Joell, Crooked I and Royce trade quality rhymes over a varied catalogue of original productions that allow the four-piece ample room to spit their different brands of venom.

Grandiose in its bite, depth and soul, Champion lives up to its name.

A dose of psychedelic pop, captivating hooks, and guitar trembles enhance the listening experience. Exploring the themes of new opportunities, growth, disconnection and hope, listeners can feel frontman Jack Steadman's raw emotions.

Bringing a higher degree of polish to the table than past bedroom recordings, the duo also show off an impressive palette of sounds on their dozen beats.

Not only is Steppington the first must-own rap record of 2014, but it represents freedom for its makers.

The Best of Luck Club may lack some of the whimsy that got her noticed, but with this more mature turn, Lahey has expressed some lyrical depth that wasn't quite there the first time around.

Lee Ranaldo/Jim Jarmusch/ Marc Urselli/ Balázs Pándi is an egoless collection of ideas from four musicians who sound like they've been working together for an eternity.

Seamlessly weaving complexity into internal rhymes in verses and the overall thematic premise, PTSD excels at both micro and macro levels.

This is Colourgrade's magic ⎯ it captures the quiet humdrum of life at its most unreal, blearing domestic love and childrearing and sleep and exhaustion into something suddenly, amazingly unfamiliar.

Ego Death frees the Internet from Odd Future connotations and R&B norms; it's their best work yet.

Her ability to turn raw emotion into compelling and riveting music carries Exile in the Outer Ring, and the result is some of the best material we've heard from her yet.

2 Chainz's debut album is a triumph on so many levels.

Know-It-All is clearly the end result of Cara's vision by way of major label collaboration. So while it's a tad formulaic, it's terrifically executed and solidly produced.

The results show the oft-dramatic vocalist crafting some of his most meditative and emotional songs to date, as the high drama is cleverly delivered through pained phrasings and gently cinematic instrumentation.

Temple Beautiful is the sound of a mature rock'n'roller continuing to reach for new heights.

On We Got Love, his sophomore LP, the Irish knobturner has managed to produce a coherent album brimming with ideas, styles and guest musicians.

The sonic clarity is improved somewhat, but it's still messy as hell, meaning that Say Yes to Love sounds more like another demo than a proper album.

Give this one time, and it reveals itself.

Wait to Pleasure is a marked improvement on their debut that demonstrates No Joy's capacity as sonic adventurists capitalizing on the advantages of a studio environment.

Hypnophobia is a beautiful, and sometimes tragic, look into the mind of a talented and tortured artist.