II is looser and fuzzier than its predecessor.... one of 2015's standout records. [No. 120, p.56]

For the most part, the band has deftly added its own experiences and experience to original template of its debut, and comes out gleaming in the other end. [No. 101, p.61]

As epic and compelling as nearly anything in the Cult's '80's back catalog. [No.87, p.53]

It's far and away Fernow's most affecting recorded work to date. [No. 120, p.59]

On [A Joyful Noise] the fire of youth has been replaced by a sexy confidence that oozes cool. [No.88 p.54]

It can proudly stand alongside anything else the band has done. [No. 120, p.52]

The dominant strain is melodically powerful modern jazz where "Mvt.-1" and "Mvt.-III" are the triumphant highlights with joyous Paper Chase and Jittery Peanuts reference points. [No. 150, p.55]

The band's riffs and solos topple like old growth redwoods unmoored by a mudslide, and when Haino drops his mic to join the fray on guitar and electronics, the collapse is complete. [No. 150, p.56]

It includes four instrumentals that feel wide open without sacrificing the band's essential heaviness. [No. 150, p.51]

With BRMC, the curtains match the drapes in terms of words and music. [No. 150, p.51]

It's not a pretty album, but it will evoke reaction on either side of the coin. [No. 108, p.59]

Sorry earned White Lung an audience; on Deep Fantasy, the band commands it. [No. 110, p.61]

Jenkins continues his adroitness at transforming disparate juxtapositions of R2-D2 blips and bloops, deep bass drops into sonic sculptures that are futuristically dense and engagingly hip-shaking. [No. 120, p.61]

It's missing much of the quirkiness of its predecessors--and some fans will bemoan that fact--but Motivational Jumpsuit is the best, most consistent recent GBV effort. [No. 106, p.58]

Not every song justifies Herring's bold imprimatur, but enough do to make them stand out in a catalog that wasn't wanting for impact tracks. [No. 108, p.55]

The coarse sonic atmosphere remains, but in nearly every other respect, the evolution is substantial. [No.95, p.56]

Dirty Pictures (Part 1) is the perfect appetizer to the boozy, bluesy world of Low cut Connie. [No. 144, p.55]

Once it works its way through your ears, Too True won't leave your head anytime soon. [No. 106, p.56]

A great, if subtle, step forward. [No. 131, p.55]

Should I Remain Here At Sea? and Taste stand as proof that "Mastermind, Islands" should be Thorburn's lead credit. [No. 131, p.57]

Serves as an excellent introduction to the power and eclecticism of this veteran Balkan brass band. [No. 89, p.52]

Converts to the cause will find much to love here, and curious newcomers and Anglophiles, it's as good a place as any to start. [#82, p.58]

A series of genre-bending compositions written with New York chamber-music ensemble yMusic that puts [Worden's] full vocal range of on display... a really powerful synergy. [#82, p.59]

It's a captivating album, full of gradually shifting textures, meditative chants and brilliant guitar playing. [No. 106, p.59]

The results are nothing short of stunning. [No. 149, p.59]

It's a caustic dose of trashcore and punk that's light on melody, but loaded with riffs. [No. 103, p.59]

This sophomore set--which largely sidelines the folkier aspects of their 2013 debut in favor of a sharper, fuller, occasionally aggressive big-pop approach--offers plenty of grand, gut-busting hooks. [No. 129, p.57]

The country-tarnished/garage/indie/glam-rock edge of this collection of 10 tracks has not one disappointment. [No. 129, p.60]

An even more esoteric, and yet - oddly enough - more accessible record than her debut. [No.87, p. 51]

It's an immediate, obvious highlight of Wasner's career, and of the year. [No. 136, p.57]

Having carved out a signature sound from the start, Local Natives continue to sound both fresh and familiar. [No. 136, p.57]

Collaborations where the principals hail from different ends of the musical spectrum usually lack common ground, making their output little more than a curiosity. Thankfully, this a a problem Harmonic trounces with a big sonic shillelagh. [#88, p.58]

It's a beautiful behemoth. [No. 112, p.56]

Policy shows that Will is more than capable of getting the kids to wake up. [No. 118, p.53]

Helter Seltzer offers a master class in grandiose indie-pop and how to maximize the potential of the simplest of sounds. [No. 133, p.58]

Arriving ten years after her solo debut, Little Heater has managed to take the anachronistic qualities of Irwin's sound and imbue them with real relevance. [No.91 p.55]

Daniel Bachman is the guitarist's most emotionally complex and stylistically integrated work to date. [No. 137, p.53]

There's a refreshing sense of directness in the sound of the music, which, for all its abundant, unabashed prettiness and orchestral elegance, maintains a stripped-down, unaffectedly human scope. [No. 96, p.59]

This long-forgotten collection is a fine, representative memento of California country rock in its heyday. [No.95, p.53]

Though it's easily the group's densest, most challenging release to date, Tomorrow's Harvest will likely gratify anyone willing to dig deep enough to reap its wonders. [No. 100, p.53]

The heady combination of orchestral maneuvers, spiritual posturing and drone-imbued psychedelia make this a seductive listening experience. [No. 85, p.56]

Although they rarely stray far from their now-familiarly icy aesthetic on Shrines, the decidedly captivating manner with which Purity ring navigates said aesthetic makes for one of the most exciting debuts in recent memory. [No.89, p.59]

1992-2001 functions as a perfect introduction to the band's catalog, bundling tracks from its five albums with nine unreleased songs. [No. 147, p.53]

Depression Chery has four masterful set pieces, staggered to hit as odd-numbered tracks, each deepening the pervasive sense of rediscovered romance. [No. 124, p.51]

Intensely personal and musically powerful, Griffin captures the bold spirit of her family's history with top-notch songs. [No.99, p.56]

Grim Reaper shows that Lennox has bigger things on his mind than mere crowd-pleasing. [No. 117, p.59]

Impossibly, Rosenberg's artistry still feels mysterious, unknowable, capable of surprise. [No. 147, p.57]

On One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, Full Of Hell pushes The Body to tempos that the doom-metal twosome rarely attempts. [No. 130, p.53]

It All Starts With One's songs all deal with love's discontents, and their desperate beauty should make a hit with those who like to wallow in desperation and unhappiness. [No.87, p.52]

Basinski has proven remarkably capable at existing far outside of his own legacy, his uncanny ability to wring entire worlds from his famously deep tape archives proving more remarkable with each subsequent release. A Shadow In Time is no exception. [No. 139, p.53]

The rhythm section is thoroughly strong, giving the band freedom to travel as far into the bleeps and bloops as it pleases, which is many miles. [No. 100, p.57]

While the urgency of You're Nothing is missed, this more distraught-sounding version of the band is plenty captivating. [No. 115, p.57]

No One Is Lost features some of the band's richest melodies, not to mention some of its heaviest grooves. [No. 115, p.60]

Easy crowd banter and goofy in-the-moment revisions of lyrics make Live not only a fine addition to the band's discography, but an excellent summing-up of the best of its output so far. [No. 117, p.53]

A collection that's at once futuristic and timeless, Across The Multiverse is sure to wow friends, family and followers alike. [No. 145, p.57]

Vernon's gorgeous falsetto and vice grip on melody hold it all together beautifully. [No. 137, p.52]

[Rossen] passes on Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles' carefully manicured sprawl in favor of focus and immediacy. [No.86, p.57]

Shaking proves from the get-go to be easily the most ambitious and defiantly challenging release in either Dreijer sibling's catalog. [No. 97, p.57]

R. Cole Furlow reliably packs every Dead Gaze song with pathos, effects, blurred motion and voices, man, voices. [No.99, p.54]

Guitars meander before slicing, the rhythm section is taut, and Gedge hits all of his favorite topics-love, lust and spite-often in the same three or four minutes. Gedge may never get this relationship stuff figured out, but at least the rest of us benefit. [No.85, p.60]

In guitar lines that are jittery with pop portent, hosting a sharp-witted party for nonbelivers everywhere. [No. 125, p.61]

Vol. 1's gorgeous "Sea Of Clouds," Dylanesque "Hope IS Big" and crystalline "Limp Right Back" quiver with quiet emotional power. [No. 146, p.51]

Walls could be their portal to lingering greatness. [No. 137, p.57]

Vol. 2's Springsteen-tinged "Don't Hurt," Tom Petty-flavored "Look How Clean I Am" and punk-soaked "It's A Whale" stomp and romp with unrepentant rage and joy. [No. 146, p.51]

There are hard and soft edges all over Every Country's Sun, and both accounts have made us happy campers. Again. [No. 146, p.56]

For those curious what the San Fran-tastic Four has left in the tank, here's what: false starts, faint praise, fart noises, mischievous grins, horns of plenty, golden deadpanning.... [No. 92, p.53]

It's a wonderful-sounding record, too, lushly textured... and one that demands to be played at full volume. [No.85 p.61]

One of the more important metal releases of 2017. [No. 146, p.59]

Exhausting Fire is the fourth--and best installment of what will hopefully one day be recognized as the finest thing going in the forward-thinking heavy underground. [No. 125, p.59]

Orc is a continuation of the careening energy and creativity that has defined the most recent handful of Oh Sees' record, making it one of the most beastly in the bunch. [No. 146, p.59]

These tunes feel huge, enhanced by a newfound confidence, choirs literal and adhoc, and the snap-bracelet rhyme schemes of pal Aesop Rock. [No. 82, p.54]

In truth, Springsteen himself might not be able to pull off the grit and glam of Pretty Years, but Cymbals Eat Guitars makes it look easy. [No. 135, p.55]

With its disjointed turns, it plays like a score to a David Lynch film: sinister, with moments of beautiful and icy-cool respite... Highly recommended.[No. 90, p.52]

Hi Beams has style to burn, colorful as a candy store and shiny as new-molded plastic. [No. 97, p.56]

It's good to have these Michigan noisemakers back, in fine form. [No.99, p.61]

While no one track jumps out as a single, the entire album is something of a near cubist deconstruction of the band's sound. [No.88 p.60]

Restless Ones is a statement of collective confidence and ambitious vision. [No. 121, p.55]

A welcome addition to its expansive discography. [No. 125, p.59]

Thanks in part to producer Henning Furst, she succeeds in generating a summer feel-good vibe so potent, it'll feel all the better come winter. [No.92, p.59]

It's pretty much instantly likable if you're not otherwise predisposed. [No. 98, p.58]

All but gone is the glitzy, retro-leaning synthpop maximalism that dominated her first record, replaced here by a remarkably expansive sonic palette and a newfound poise that hardly falters from start to finish. [No. 98, p.57]

Hatfield, drummer Todd Phillips and bassist Dean Fisher still mash up the agony and ecstasy in the same idiosyncratic, gorgeous way we knew and loved. [No. 117, p.55]

What's great about English Little League very much preaches to the choir. But it's nevertheless clear this crew is ready to welcome some new converts once more. [No. 98, p.51]

The new one is faster, hookier, cleaner. [No. 95, p.52]

Ryan Adams (the album) carries all the classic hallmarks of Ryan Adams (the musician), tightly condensed into an essential collection of polished Americana. [No. 113, p.52]

Snaith crafted Out Love with all the care of a handwritten mixtape. [No. 114, p.52]

His boldest, most impressive statement to date. [No. 114, p.55]

Days Of Abandon stands up as both a continuation and a reintroduction for this ambitious band. [No. 109, p.59]

The band has simply folded its past into a bigger, richer whole. [No. 93, p.58]

This half-hour slab of very high-energy punk would be cathartic if its root darkness weren't so persistently unsettling. [No. 98, p.60]

With its simple riff and typically anthemic chorus, the immediately indelible "The Birthday Democrats" amply proves that Pollard's unprecedented creative spark shows no signs of going dark. The rest of How Do You Spell Heaven confirms that notion. [No. 145, p.55]

It's the sound of Griffin at an intriguing crossroads. [No. 104, p.56]

{Awayland} is far more confident than 2010's Becoming A Jackal, its vision more ambitious, its poetry more conflicted, its melodies more complex, its execution more polished. [No. 98, p.61]

Williams’ themes here aren’t new for her—love lost and found, mortality, the struggle to get right with God. But thanks to Frisell especially, the settings for Williams’ cracked, world-weary voice and vivid songwriting are indeed new. [No. 128, p.60]

A sameness of style makes things feel a little redundant, but taken in discreet portions, these tunes are unimpeachable. [No.92 p.55]

Somewhere beautiful documents a fantastic 20-song set by this long-adored, seminal New Zealand band that makes you wish you'd been invited to the bash. [No. 104, p.53]

He's created a burbling paint pot of a record, one teeming with ideas, styles and reference points as diverse as Double Nickels On The Dime, but wholly recognizable as Tweedy-esque. [No. 113, p.60]

Though there’s nothing too saccharine on Emotional Mugger (even the line “I want your candy” on “Breakfast Eggs” is more of a threat than a statement of desire), the melodies are some of the strongest Segall has ever turned out. [No. 128, p.56]