The Glowing Man is the most formless of these records--light on groove but long on drifting passages that require leviathan feats of patience to endure.

When each of the four guitarists is soloing and head banging and falling on his knees, their collective performance is both entertaining and engaging. In fact, the lines between show and sincerity blur on Turn To Gold, and that’s what makes the record a progressive step in the band’s career.

Their debut comes off as lacking cohesion at first; then you realize it’s supposed to sound that way.

While intimate and personal in nature, Piano combines minimalistic instrumentation with simplistic lyrics and makes for an album that turns lackluster as a whole.

Genre-bending but with a common gothic ambience throughout, Gemma Ray is equal parts story teller and musician as she skillfully intertwines a diverse collection of 12 independent chapters in the form of songs that stand strong individually, but intensify when put together.

While it might not be for those looking for something ultra modern or cutting edge, these songs ultimately feel immediate and engaging and worth multiple listens.

Sure, literally speaking all of the songs off of Light Upon the Lake conjure up failure to maintain a relationship with a loved one, but how can you relate a new band’s debut record--and one that’s so so fully realized to the point of even having a mission statement in the Whitney, as a man, as a writing prompt and concept--with a break up? If anything, it’s the start of something new.

There’s some beautiful string parts, synth that rolls off sullenly into a distant horizon, and a pretty mean glockenspiel on “For You Always,” but the vocals ruin it. They don’t fit at all. It makes the album hard to swallow in the end, like an amazing deep dish pizza covered in green onions.

These songs wander, but they succeed because they enable us to wander, too. They encourage us to get lost.

Without a doubt,Stranger to Stranger is a testament to an artist who refuses to be ordinary and pigeonholed. With this LP, Paul Simon has created his best work in many years.

On the whole, Nosebleed Weekend is a triumph, The Coathangers’ strongest top-to-bottom album and one that proves the band can maintain its essence as it evolves.

Rae seems to be inspired by nature. Allusions to stars, constellations, skies and galaxies abound, elemental energies propelling her as she confronts new challenges and obstacles, and imagines new futures.

Kidsticks feels genuinely special--it’s an exciting reboot and a tantalizing hint that new strategies may be on the horizon, never a bad thing when an artist has been on the job more than two decades.

Big Thief ultimately nail the different shades of reckoning and self-introspection on their Saddle Creek debut. Many listeners will no doubt identify with and see pieces of their own struggles inside this album.

Experiencing The Other Side of the River without knowing the primary work would be like reading the footnotes in a history book and skipping the main text. But check out this well-intentioned, albeit overstuffed, collection after savoring the easy pleasures of River, and enjoy a flavorful chaser.

This album feels like it’s trying too hard to get me to sing along, to partake in transforming its songs into soccer field-sized anthems.

Indie rock may not be dying, but it’ll be hard for people to make it sound as alive as Toledo does on Teens of Denial. This is the sort of record where you wish like hell you could hear it again for the first time and that’ll keep rewarding return visits for years to come.

Petty fans will be pleased, given that 2 is an adequate stopgap measure, at least until Petty and company come up with something new of their own.

Strangers is in many ways more dynamic than some of Nadler’s previous efforts, balancing the ethereal atmospherics with musical movement that adds a sense of foreboding, as if Nadler were singing calmly in the face of an onrushing apocalypse.

The arrangements on Fallen Angels are wonderful and sumptuous. Recorded with his longtime touring band, it’s easy to hear how working with this music has breathed new life into them as a performing unit. Their playing is loose, easy and natural, and they sound like they’re having a lot of fun.

While the arrangements are lush, they don’t get too overbearing or massive to take away from the lyrics. Fans of artists like Elliott Smith and Grizzly Bear will likely enjoy Shauf’s music, but overall Shauf really comes into his own on The Party.

With his old-timey Upland Stories, Fulks matures into an important voice.

Purged of the drug-addled skepticism of Acid Rap and pulsing with the free-wheeling spirit and zeal that bolstered Surf, Coloring Book is a breezy listen: direct and purposeful.

All of the classic rock components are here--drug-induced percussion segues, heavy distortion on guitars, a singer who may or may not be fully cognizant about whether the recording process is underway. There’s an ethos at work, a controlled chaos, and it’s a brilliantly orchestrated jam session.

There still seems to be something especially right about how Twin Peaks are retaining a level of familiarity with anyone who likes rock music while getting to be better and more songwriters with each passing album.

In the end, anyone who’s tapped feet or nodded along to Fruit Bats in the past will find plenty to embrace with this new batch of familiar, comfortable tunes.

Many of the tracks on the album definitely feel like they were written during the golden age of pop-punk music. Yet there is also something innovative about these songs, particularly the opener “Homecoming King.”

Despite a few major lulls, Get Gone, for the better part of its run time, is a sharp, unique, and enjoyable record brought to you by a band that has all the energy and musicianship required to ensure each listen is going to be a good time that gleans something new.