All the songs stand as equals, and considering they were made years apart, the cohesiveness this album carries is nothing short of amazing.

Night Thoughts grabs hold immediately and only tightens its grip with each listen.

With the presence of so many just-off-the-map yet accessible tracks, this set serves as an entry point to a host of artists all sharing a similar aesthetic operating at different levels drawn together by an overarching understanding of how music works on multiple levels. In this, Moodymann’s installment of DJ-Kicks may well become the unimpeachably perfect bar against which all subsequent sets will be measured.

More fun than Come Feel Me Tremble.

While The Big To-Do won’t be known for its gambles, its stellar collection of memorable rockers make it a great addition to the band’s already impressive catalog.

As they prove yet again with their latest triumph, Paper Gods, Duran Duran is one of the most consistently entertaining bands of our generation.

The more you listen to Until the Quiet Comes, the more you get the sense that you're only scratching the surface of how much is really going on with it. It's a tribute to what FlyLo has accomplished here that no matter how and how much you enjoy it now, Until the Quiet Comes only promises to keep on revealing more and more of itself.

An album that--biography aside--reveals the strength of merging personal vision with cooperative expression.

By challenging himself to make the most out of his new recording environment, he has refreshed his sound and ended up with his most engaging and accessible work to date. It is a wholly immersive triumph that draws you in tight as few albums do.

What is left is a superlative set of authentic punk songs that stand as their finest achievement to date.

Mould comes full circle on District Line, marrying his distant acoustic past to his current path and it seems as if he has found a happy medium.

Their ability to drop a pop banger has been proven already – they can do it – but they just find reimagining what Cybotron would sound like as a future-punk band, and that exploration in sound proves to be a gripping listen here.

The music here is unique and exciting, even if the band appeals largely to music nerds and have to struggle outside of that demographic to find an audience.

A well crafted and executed evocation of verdant indie pop that sticks with you long after it has sounded its final note.

It’s the sound of a confident band that together weaves their individual talents into a well-assembled and well-worn machine.

In essence this is their first real rock album, filled with compact songs bursting with energy.

For its themes of loss and longing, its wide-eyed sense of wistfulness, for all of its hopefulness in misfortune, Lose ends up being a win. And a major one at that.

Smilewound beckons and fans out, drawing the listener further and further into its own sonic world, both familiar to fans of múm’s sound and very much unlike anything that they have done previously.

After establishing himself with well-received mixtapes, Ohio is exactly the album fans could’ve hoped for Stalley to deliver with for his major-label debut.

The excellence of Close Ties lies in Crowell’s ability to tell stories about himself and others that ring fresh and true. After more than 50 years as a recording artist, he’s still able to create evocative songs that linger in one’s head long after the disc has finished playing.

Sauna can be disorienting at times, too, but, more to the point, it has a peculiar way of making you feel like you’re listening to two overlapping albums that follow perpendicular impulses.

Laulu Laakson Kukista is an almost perfect example of a band moving forward without forgetting what it was that made them loveable in the first place, of how to make music with a wider appeal without sacrificing the reason people were paying attention in the first place.

It’s easy to say this is a post-Hüsker Dü album, but the story of Workbook is a more complicated one than that, and 25 years later it still plays like a story worth hearing.

The remarkable thing is that, even on an EP of accessible pop songs, Deerhunter effortlessly retain that shape.

The album never holds its shape-and that lack of shape, somehow, is what defines it.

This is hard rock music in 2015 at its most fun, relevant, and genre-crossing.

Redshift is an impressive and lasting experimental rock record because it manages something not all experimental music can pull off. It is both immediate and challenging, catchy and complex.

While most artists would have drowned under the pressure, hype, anticipation and scale of an album like Blonde, he passes with flying colors, making him not only one of the most unique R&B artists of our time, but also one of the best as well.

Musicians do not always the same luxury of planning their end strategy as television writers, but Campbell and company do, and they make the most out of it.

The Brave and the Bold is a melding of the minds, a comic-book collision of musical forces whose mutant powers turn mere simulation into disturbing mimetic magic.

It’s not revolutionary, life-changing ‘high art’ but right here, right now Haim’s sassy, enthusiastic, ‘one for all’ joie de vivre feels freshly invigorating, infectious ...basically, a drop o’ the good stuff.

It’s a spring for your enjoyment. And like the most effortlessly beautiful cascades around, 10 Years Solo Live can easily spellbind you.

On The Stage Names, the band have once again shown themselves to be expert at creating this undeniably sad and powerful indie rock. It’s one of the year’s essential albums.

Everything about the album inhabits its own environment, occupying its own sense of time and space. By taking these various, often antagonistic and contradictory elements and shaping them into something new, the trio have created a deep and absorbing album.

She continues to be nothing short of magnificent as a performer, and her generosity in bringing newer artists with her into the spotlight is wholly gratifying. And, while the sentiments here may not be wholly novel, they are well-timed, and they soar when Kidjo sings them.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as you knew them, are dead. Just don’t be surprised if you like new version a little more.

You’ll sit back, listen and admire but you might not truly connect. But this needn’t detract from the realisation that it is beautiful, superbly conceived and executed with as much yearning, creativity and meticulousness as technical finesse.

It is indeed a credit to all involved that this album sounds as ego-less and cohesive as it does. The performances throughout also retain a loose, lived-in quality that strikes an even balance between purposeful songwriting and the pleasant surprises of in-studio “mistakes”.

Paramore is both the band’s most polished and messiest album, which somehow pays off.

Tthe history of countless folk and ballad songs feature a fluidity to words depending on travel, local customs, or any other number of factors. These songs fit their times and their performers, and Across the Field is notable for examining just how relevant these songs still may be.

Compared to the brilliant quaver of 1999's Axxess and Ace, The Magnolia Electric Co. is almost commercial in the fullness of its sound -- many longtime fans will no doubt be put off by it. It has the feel, though, of an artist turning a corner, of adding a few new colors to his palette and seeing a ton of previously unthinkable possibilities on the horizon.

With an album as well thought out and arranged as Flower Boy playing on repeat, “right now” is absolutely enjoyable.

This is his best flowing album to date, his most demanding, most infuriating, most invigorating and most intense.

Thankfully [after the first track], the rest of the album really is magnificent.

Accelerate hits the ground running, slows down briefly, and ends as furiously as it began. Mapped out that way, its most striking moments end up being the bookends of the first and last two songs, particularly since the album is so short, but even the weakest moments in the middle detract little from the whole.

These recordings might be less melodic than what the band has given us in the past, but they’re no less attentive.

It’s brimming with spectacular moments and paints grand tales that demand close inspection.

Another Eternity is the best case scenario for fans of the first album, providing more of what James and Roddick excel at, but intensified and refined. It’s one step closer to pop perfection.

Even with its taut construction, Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations sags just a bit in the middle. The downside of the renewed focus is that some of the songs sound similar and struggle to assert themselves. .... All of this aside, it is good to hear the Vaccines being a guitar band again—and an excellent one, at that.

Weller has made an extremely worthy case for remaining the master of his craft.

The Balladeer will only help cement her reputation as one of America's finest musical artists.

Imperial Teen is delightful with just enough bite; danceable without having to count beats per minute; ready to have as much fun as you are.

With Ruinism, Lapalux has succeeded in achieving something genuinely unique. It’s not a case of him throwing the pieces in the air to see where they fall as every track is still clearly painstakingly put together. Rather, it has freed himself from his expectations and his routine to achieve an unexpected purpose. It is a method that has resulted in one of the stand-out electronic releases of the year so far.

The top dawg MCs lend the soundtrack much more credibility than predecessors such as Menace II Society soundtrack or The Deep Cover soundtrack.

While Deeper Well can be listened to as a companion to Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves isn’t necessarily trying to recreate its magic formula. Instead, the singer has grown significantly as a musician and lyricist over the last six years.

What Sheezus proves is that Lily Allen is still growing and evolving as a musician, and even with a few lesser tracks here and there, Sheezus is so far her best-yet mix of personal stories and overarching cultural commentary.

For whatever these songs may seem to be--remembrances of mourning, reflections on the underclass, or even a simple plea--there’s always a lingering sense of something else, an echo of a hidden power beneath the obvious.

A strange delight of a record.

Ultimately, Bazan continues to sound more like a distillation of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and The Counting Crows' Adam Duritz than the latest flavor of pop star.

To these ears, the Get Up Kids have finally arrived.

Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down could have tremendous cathartic power for this who are aware of history and its knack for repeating itself. For those who are willing, this is a good place to start an education.

Tired of Hanging Around is warm, vibrant, tight, and crackling in just the right places.

Traveling Alone is an eleven track collection that speaks to Merritt's vision and outlook.

Like other outsider artists such as Tom Waits and Howe Gelb, Allen has a sinister sense of humor that he uses to lighten up the proceedings and add emotional depth to seemingly innocent situations.

The eight albums collected on the two anthologies are offered as originally released with no extras, and this makes the collection especially effective for new fans discovering this extraordinary work.

Her lyrics are full of witty puns, comic exaggerations and double-entendres accented by her sense of timing and intonations. The lines drip with bon mots that begin straight and then bend unexpectedly.

As a longtime fan and collector of live Stones stuff, I personally feel that Shine a Light deserves a pivotal place in your listening rotation, especially if you are in search of a quality recent show.

The majority of the record is magnificent. Granted, those who missed the avant-garde heaviness of earlier works on the glitzy +- will feel the same way about this one, but it’s hard to argue that trio isn’t just as dedicated, fearless, and confident in their new direction.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is back and shows no signs of being boring or predictable. For this, we should all be thankful.

In League with Dragons could stand conceptually as the most Mountain Goats thing ever. Given the album's smart execution of its vision and its memorable songs, that's good news in this or any world.

Fritts is the real deal. He may be able to put on different personas (his take as the abandoned son of a faded actor on the opening track “Errol Flynn” offers clear proof of that), but he also conveys the unfathomable nature of existence through his multilayered performances.

Old fans who would have enjoyed such messages in the past might not like them packaged with such clean music, but they'd be missing the point. Real old school punks know that punk is about following your own path, and that's just what Green Day are doing.

A satisfying diversion in the flow of two styles of classic music previously at odds with one another.

The Greater Wrong of the Right's high quota of accessible, club-oriented tracks sets it apart from Skinny Puppy's other works.

The captivating aspect of Who Built the Moon? is its capability to grow in depth across multiple listens. Furthermore, the album intensifies and gains strength with multiple listens.

Frahm, in his curating and crafting, has made something that demands to be listened to as a full album, because it is a buoyant, graceful capsule untethered by time.

Throughout the record, the Black Keys don’t rock the boat much with their style, just continuing to hone it and make it all come together.

A frustrating and thrilling document, both empowering and slightly disappointing.

Even though Beirut did not reinvent their modus operandi with Gallipoli, the record stands as one of their stronger moments, mainly due to Condon's perspective towards the feeling of this record.

This is bedroom pop that transports you to strange vistas made by a brilliant loner in a frigid room.

It may take a few listens to appreciate the understated quality in this album but The Higher You Get The Rare The Vegetation has a clarity and dynamic sensibility.

Basinski navigates these galactic themes through his trademark style. The record begins slowly, with the heavy drones creating a wind-like effect, slowly settling in the background. At the same time, a big, deep, boomy sound is echoing in the distance, providing these subtle movements with an anchor. ... An impressive listen.

Goodnight Tender takes that drive with us; it’s a set of dusty, brutally and beautifully honest tunes that break your heart before healing it again.

Visions is an absolute blast. Easy to admire, easy to love.

The album as a whole invites us to do more than share our misery. It asks us to see ourselves as part of something bigger.

For those infatuated with her magical voice, this album of work doesn't disappoint.

Sonic Nurse finds them embracing and sifting through the finer moments of their past over the course of 10 outstanding tracks.

It’s not impossible to find records made with this kind of intelligence, but it’s becoming increasingly rare.

I’m a Freak Baby! is a highly enjoyable set of music, some of it sublime, some silly, all of it taking the piss out of any questions regarding high art. It belongs in the library of anyone with a deep affinity for psychedelia, hard rock, or heavy metal.

With Furnaces, Ed Harcourt has continued his impressive winning streak with both true artistry and singularly-focused aplomb.

Her Majesty the Decemberists is distinctive, where the good parts are so good that it's easy to overlook the not-so-good.

The sound of an artist finally catching up with his talent.

On one level, Tokorats can be enjoyed as a cleverly nuanced and textured album with Jonti displaying an innate ability to juxtapose old and new samples and live instrumentation cleverly. On the other, it can simply be enjoyed as an album of great tunes with some that'll make you think, some that will make you move, and some that will do both.

Trees Speak are a band that wear their influences on their sleeves. But their list of influences is so long that it never feels derivative or repetitious.

Coloring Book is another exceptional release from a vital artist only now coming into his own.

With his lyrics, his robust riffs, and flamboyant solos, Pike and High on Fire embody everything that is fun about heavy metal, and no matter how unpredictable they can be as far as production goes, we'll always know that there's no such thing as a bad High on Fire album, and Snakes For the Divine is no exception.

Boomkatalog.one is that rarest of recordings that makes pop fans' hearts beat a little faster: a deft combination of musical styles, both current and past, that, when integrated with powerful hooks and strong execution, adds up to an irresistible album.

This is still a record pushing the boundaries of what modern R&B music can be and still keep its audience. Usher sounds and looks good out on that cutting edge.