The songs were full of meaning and memories.

An album that doesn't immediately astound, but gradually unfurls in dense atmospheric strands.

A Certain Trigger is a strong release from its opener on, though it has noticeable shifts in momentum, with a second, rousing tour de force in its closing tracks.

It is the closest you’ll get to The Bends in 2005.

Getting used to the lethargic pace of Beach House takes some doing, but it's well worth the effort.

His band's former work may be referenced, but Adams' personal stamp is unmistakable.

Aha Shake Heartbreak surpasses the previous record by leaps and bounds; it is a triumph over the dreaded sophomore slump as much as it is a worthy feat in and of itself.

The sound on Alight of Night is a swinging, noisy, glammy and overall dark evolution of garage rock.

Catastrophe Keeps Us Together is the most Rainer Maria has sounded like themselves since the Atlantic EP and is more daring than we could have hoped.

Crimes is the latest in an evolution that has seen the band complicate their sound without losing any of the confrontational nature or acerbic tone of their previous efforts.

Like any good instrumental album, Maritime does its job in providing a getaway.

The Equatorial Stars renews a partnership of a more than historical value.

Perhaps more so than any other band out there today, the pair channel the spirit of the wandering troubadour in all of his dusty, down and out glory.

There are some very danceable tracks on the outfit's second release, but nowhere is there a worldwide hit to be found.

As with any such wildly anticipated album, the reverse motion could be a case of perspective, of personal expectations being insurmountably high, because Now We Can See is by no means a bad album. It just seems a little pedestrian for such a talented and unique band.

It is certainly fun discovering each new twist and turn on One Way, It’s Every Way, and Clue to Kalo have created a great album to get lost in.

The slightly pretentious concept, though, is balanced by the equally lavish music and specifically Khan's voice.

Crimson may not be AK3s best album, but it’s a welcome, mature effort from one of Vagrant’s best bands.

An incredible pop record whose lyrics take a backset to the music.

More than the sound, the words of Bright Ideas are especially important; they are not particularly eloquent, but they are representative something larger: each clumsy, unsure expression desperately needs to be said.

Neatly cut and effortless in its melodic simplicity.

At once soothing and energetic, ferocious and effeminate, beautiful and ballsy, No Shouts, No Calls is a passionate, confident effort.

It wouldn't be inconceivable to describe 13 & God as the predictable outcome of a Notwist/Themselves collaboration, but, considering the degree of originality demonstrated, this is by no means a shortcoming.

As a primer on The Greenhornes, Sewed Soles works best.

With its elegant simplicity, Spelled in Bones may not be concerned with being an epic, but it unwittingly becomes one; it is an album capable of stirring something greater within its audience.

Meanderthals are a collaboration between Idjut Boys and Rune Linbaek, with a sound that is a bit of a fluffier than what we have traditionally come to expect from the Smalltown Supersound label roster. That fluffiness adds a fresh breeze to the otherwise unassuming mix of throwback downbeat and Scandinavian folk strumming.

Jarvis is a solid, thought-provoking album.

The Audience’s Listening is artistic, witty, comprehensive, technical, but most important of all it isn’t pretentious.