Bullion makes the weird wonderful on Loop The Loop, painting streaks of heartbreak and sadness onto a bubbly, almost animated canvas that evokes as much as it mystifies.

Starmaker is a world unbound by time and gravity, a fantasy borne of solar winds. If this is where country music is headed, we should all be so lucky to be invited along for the journey.

Despite the abundance of compositional ideas, they are all executed with attention to clarity, cohesion and detail. Thackray's auteurist approach in the studio combined with her peerless precision and control feel like a whole new genre unto itself.

The propulsive spark that lit their debut lingers, keeping the record from drifting off into malaise.

Even though Post Self isn't exactly what was expected, it's a masterful release from two musicians who seem to be incapable of creating anything short of exquisite.

Little Oblivions is generous and giving; it's not only a public display of personal catharsis, but also an act of collective commiseration and an invitation to heal.

Auditory annihilation never sounded so good.

Nine pieces that come off even more inventive than the present company suggests.

Even the bangers on Brandon Banks are thoughtful. ... All that thematic ambition, along with the minimalist yet catchy instrumentals and Kream's unfussy, but deceptively thoughtful lyrics, make Brandon Banks the breakout debut of the summer.

This is but another stroke of genius in a career full of them.

For a band as hardboiled as Arab Strap, As Days Get Dark is nonetheless a love letter to the brave, ambitious nature the band has built their audience upon. The swings are bigger, the misses are broader, the hits are even more rewarding — for Arab Strap, there's no other reasonable way to approach it.

Jeff Tweedy clearly spent more time than usual talking to himself of late, and the expressive results are strong. His memory went jogging and kicked up enough dust that he had to put it down on paper and on tape, and it all feels like the most direct pathway into his complex psyche that he's ever offered.

The more I listen to it, the more that Infinity of Now sounds like the album I wish Portishead would finally get around to making. Given how much the Heliocentrics continue to advance with each album, it's possible the general public may end up forgetting Portishead entirely. They may not be pioneering a movement, but the Heliocentrics do something no one else can, and it is worthy of the loftiest praise.

While White Jesus Black Problems is certainly an album that prompts further discovery of its deeper layers, it is also liberating in its musical profundity.

A modest five-song EP, from its pared-down arrangements to its monochromatic album cover, Silent Hour/Golden Mile is a surprisingly cohesive release that begs for repeat spins.

Manically happy, infectiously danceable and too clever by half, if 1991 does one thing, it proves that Banks's breakout hit, "212," was no fluke.

These songs feel ripped from sets you'll most likely never see, as the technical skill of Villalobos conspicuously reminds the listener of the less boring record it could have been.

A little more variety certainly would flesh out the band's releases, but as it stands these 15 songs fit together nicely, giving the impression of one deliriously long writing session.

Tyler's most musically and lyrically focused effort to date.

With Chaos for the Fly, Grian Chatten has proven that he's not only worth his salt for leading one of the biggest UK bands in the world right now, but that he has the erudition to create fantastic music without his Fontaine D.C. mates.

Monolithic, heavy, raw and aggressive, A World Lit Only by Fire is 100 percent Godflesh, shattering any doubts that the duo, led by mastermind Justin K. Broadrick, could maintain their classic sound.

µ20 gives this now-classic label the classy tribute it deserves.

This release has the same charge as the early entries of Ali Hassan Kuban or Konono No. 1, both who set the bar for raw energy. The colonial demarcations of Africa have a lot to answer for, but this fusing of Songhai, Fulani, Hausa and Tuareg peoples has created gifts worth having. This is amazing music.

The album benefits from the presence of a diverse array of musicians and also showcases Veirs' talent as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and Martine's skills in percussion as well as production. My Echo is not so much about emptiness as it is about how far one's sound can travel.

Impera is a solid album and an obvious next step in Ghost's career. It's bittersweet to see the campy Satanic days firmly behind the band, but any old-school fan should still be proud to see what the band has achieved, and it's clear that Impera is the album Ghost needed to take their career to the next level.

It is minimalist yet lush, hopeful yet rooted in a stark and sometimes grim reality.

There are moments here where she falls into a nice pocket that the listener might wish she'd remain in for a little while longer.

Anicca is an album that stands alone, reaching above and beyond expectation.