As powerful a witness for the region--Memphis, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas--as it is a lovely quilt of musicality, braiding blues, folk, Appalachia, rock and old-timey country, this is balm for lost souls, alienated creatures seeking their core truths and intellectuals who love the cool mist of vespers in the hearts of people they may never encounter.

Though Painted Shut only clocks in at 41 minutes total, it feels like a much lengthier record. For fans of Hop Along, that should be just enough. For new listeners, it’s a thorough introduction.

While Hadreas’ lyrics made the most powerful moments of Perfume Genius’s 2010 debut Learning and 2012’s Put Your Back N 2 It, Too Bright folds its words into startling, varied instrumental textures.

As serious as they clearly took their playing, the music never lost its sense of playfulness and joy, with an inviting quality that draws people in to respond to it with movement or their own instrumental contributions. It’s an entourage you want to be a part of.

Mering sounds like she feels cornered by the current state of things and unsettled about our future. It is a testament to her skill and vision as a musician that she can make such circumstances sound so good.

The key to The Seer's delicate noise-beauty contrast is its sense of direction. It's what keeps the album's three crazy-long epics (particularly the half-hour-long title-track) from fading into wallpaper or bleeding out from excess.

He’s just as bummed out as ever on Purple Mountains, and he still makes being bummed out sound better than just about anyone else.

The gems on All Hail West Texas capture the pain and beauty of humans’ entanglements with each other.... These days it’s the loneliness of the album, and just the idea of the space that is West Texas, a vast and largely unpopulated sprawl, that hits home.

More revelatory are Krauss’ splendid R&B turn on Little Milton’s 'Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson' and Plant’s Dr. John impersonation on Allen Toussaint’s 'Fortune Teller'--just two of the many eye-openers on this surprising, and surprisingly effective, collaboration.

Vulnicura marks a bold return for such a storied singer.

The vibrant and varied arrangements are plenty approachable.

CSNY 1974 offers a deep and vulnerable portrait of band at the very height of its powers.

Never quite forsaking what brought them, they’ve created a new world for post-country country--as musically satisfying as it is hormone-peaking.

What’s remarkable about it is that she has spun her personal experiences into a soulful, touching R&B record with broad appeal beyond her particular demographic.

Sonically, Honeybear finds Tillman in a ruminative mood, favoring lavish strings, sweeping layers of voices and acoustic guitars. But he still has a knack for unexpected flourishes.

Be the Cowboy shows why she is fast making herself into one of the most interesting songwriters of her generation.

There are no brakes on Let Me Do One More—rather, it is more like a sprightly rollercoaster, with mellow gaps in between punchy electronic tracks creating arcs bound to give out an exhilarating sort of whiplash.

Arguably, Ohms is at first blush nothing new for Deftones. What it is is an engrossing refinement of what they’ve become over years of risk-taking and experimentation.

Their songwriting is tight, their lyrics are brazen, smart and amusing, and they are at ease shifting through various indie styles. ... The duo often sound on Wet Leg as though their songs are intended primarily to entertain themselves, and each other. The rest of us are lucky to be along for the ride.

This is the hardest Daft Punk’s ever worked on an album, but their songwriting and programming skills aren’t up to the others.

It's a hard, emotional record--certainly a good one.... But, in truth, after the lavish escapism of Funeral, Neon Bible does feel like a less stratospheric accomplishment. [Mar 2007, p.60]

Here, she’s working toward something bigger than her own feelings. She doesn’t ask us to weep for her—she captures the drama and despair of a nation, with wit to spare. Lana Del Rey is not just your little Venice bitch. She’s our little Venice bitch.

The progression of Morby’s most recent albums hinted at the true extent of his musical ideas, but that honeypot of talent and wisdom didn’t truly run over until now. Still, Photograph doesn’t overshadow his other work—rather, it honors it all.

Bite Down is packed wall to wall with tunes that are unsettled but unhurried, generous with melody, wandering but never lost, and reliably steady despite the never-ending twists and turns of an earthly existence. But above all, they are beautiful, broken and built around the kind of raw emotional uncertainty that will resonate with anyone who has ever lived, loved and/or lost.

Throughout, there’s a dynamic contrast of ultra-femininity with talk of violence, power, and crouching wrath.

They’re too big to fail though, so lightning half-strikes plenty here.

Swelling at 16 songs and an hour-plus runtime, it's Arcade Fire's most ambitious and concept-driven effort to date.

As a remastered package, the Butch Vig-produced Gish does deliver for both hardcore fans and casual listeners. What's so unique about the package isn't only seeing the band's first attempt at a full-length recording, but it also fills in the space between Gish and the amazing jump that is Siamese Dream.