When the Heart Emerges Glistening is a gem. It's a jazz record to rave about and to push on your friends.

It's a densely melodic place composed of layered instruments so intricately intertwined with each other and Bird's lyrics that repeated listenings inevitably reveal a hidden but grandiose vision of what a pop record can be.

The Knife has created a work of art that’s not just a dream waiting to be realized, but a living, breathing reality that’s waking you up to what’s possible in the wildest of imaginations.

The amount of variety Daniel and company manage to pack into ten songs while still feeling cohesive is impressive. The lack of flashy personality makes Spoon easy to overlook, but as always, the songwriting and performance are top-notch.

Maxwell might be delivering one course at a time, but for now, delivering one of the best albums of 2009 will sate your appetite just fine.

These perennial up-and-comers are now operating at an elite level. Welcome to the upper tier of American metal, kids.

While this lack of dynamic intensity may be a turn-off for some listeners, it’s clear that Horn has carefully crafted a cohesive mood and atmosphere.

It aims for the head more than it does the heart, and that's fine. It's an approach that makes it an easy album to appreciate, even if it is tremendously difficult to love.

The performances are spellbinding.

These slightly older renditions are less polished and dynamic than the Nashville sessions and have a different kind of homespun charm. The 14 tracks here suggest the wide open spaces of Texas (where the studio was located) more than the countrypolitan sophistication of Nashvegas.

Shearwater has magnificently outdone itself. Not only is Rook destined to be named one of 2008’s favorites, but it could be one of the best albums for years to come.

Even as he rocks increasingly ambitious production--and trust, Dream Deferred is one of 2012's great accomplishments--it's sometimes hard to get on Skyzoo's side as much as he seem tailored towards accessibility.

Amazones Power is a fresh, modern new chapter for Les Amazones d'Afrique, and one we can only hope will set a precedent for music and social justice in the new decade.

There is little improvisation. It's as if each song was recorded in one take without any wrong notes or mispronounced lyrics. That casual yet controlled veneer adds to the album's charm. It's as of the record always existed, and one could put it on the turntable anytime one needs to boost one's spirit.

The drifting nature of Weather Alive‘s songs may not be as immediately satisfying as the bright-eyed folk-pop she flirted with in her earlier years. Still, this album unabashedly feels like the record she needed to make now, and we all feel more Alive because of it.

This music is too good not to be shared. DeMent sings and writes from the heart. The 13 songs are powerful statements of love and indictments of bad behavior.

The inflections in his voice make the wonderment work, but it’s the mind behind the statement that serves as a reminder, even now, why his is such an essential voice in the pop lexicon. Nobody can do what he does. In fact it’s hard to even imagine anyone attempting to try.

It’s a grim journey, and often creepy as hell, but it’s by no means depressing. Mediocre music is depressing. This stuff is exhilarating.

Morbid Thoughts is an inspired, catchy punk album, full of punchy, soon-to-be anthems that will please old fans and hook newer ones. However, it is also something else. A brave acknowledgment that life isn't easy and sometimes the worst enemy is that inner voice, hell-bent on beating you down at every turn.

Far from the pitch-perfect storytelling of good kid m.A.A.d city or the exquisite poetry of To Pimp a Butterfly, Mr. Morale feels intentionally haphazard, even provocative. The double album is lengthy and prickly, its immediate pleasures counterbalanced by its confusions and difficulties.

A remarkably delicate, often meandering (though never purposeless) song cycle revolving around snow, imagination and longing, set to rich, spiraling piano compositions and deep open spaces.

Aside from a few unusual performances, Way Down In The Rust Bucket might tell us anything we didn't know, but it provides plenty of excellent music from the right band at the right time.

The numerous hired hands provide a sumptuous, varied backdrop for Case’s vocals, making for her most musically rich album to date.

There's no doubt, though, that the Mermaid Avenue albums played a major role in sparking a revival of interest in Woody Guthrie-both in his home state, his country, and the world at large. And that renewed interest has finally allowed people to see Guthrie for who and what he truly was and continues to represent.

Two things stand out here to make this album so very enjoyable and fulfilling: the sequencing and the flow of the songs, and the increased clarity of these versions as compared to their originals. The sequencing and the flow of the songs here are extremely satisfying as if re-casting earlier songs and punctuating them with those connective ambient interludes allow them to breathe.

Her most spiritually and musically fulfilling work yet. ... Eno Axis is that rare album that feels timeless. One could imagine these songs emanating from the grooves of newly-discovered dusty 78s with McEntire's hypnotic, ghostly vocals cutting through the surface noise.

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

A Man I'd Rather Be (Part II) collects Jansch's next four records, which demonstrated more variation and for some, less consistency. ... The lack of clutter amplifies the effectiveness of the originals. Particularly in light of the current vinyl resurgence, offering these albums free from extraneous tracks allows new listeners to experience the work as Jansch himself intended.

So whether it's the enigmatic profile that got Iceage noticed or all the name-checking and cross-referencing, New Brigade is really about a group that's making a name for itself, now and in the future. Iceage, to riff off the band's own words, isn't going to fade any time soon, only grow and grow.

The reason for this broad interest is his ability to aptly infuse various musical styles under the R&B umbrella. Moreover, his ability to make uptempo soul without losing his ability to invoke a response more typical of downtempo sounds is particularly impressive.

It may be less exuberant and therefore harder to love at first, but it delivers the goods just as surely. And with Paul Simon now old enough to face the ultimate questions and to do so with a stunning musical sophistication, it may just be a complete classic.

A Victim of Stars is a fine testament to Sylvian's artistry, but by all means new listeners shouldn't stop there.

It’s this blurring of electro and acoustic that makes Space 1.8 such a special debut. Nala Sinephro certainly pays homage to the golden age of spiritual jazz, but her sonic range is unparalleled, and her vision is startlingly unique. Her first full-length album is one for the pantheon of cosmic jazz classics.

Third is a complete work of art to fully immerse yourself in, listened to start to finish.

For the most part, Don't Give Up on Me ably lives up to its promise.

In his own oblique way, Molina's crafted one of his most introspective and satisfying Songs: Ohia records yet.

That's not to say that Holopaw isn't good, because it is -- it's ethereal and earthy -- but it's definitely not a record to listen to while you're, say, cleaning your house or on a road trip.

Mogwai are, despite pretenses, an ambitious band. The range of their accomplishments is wider than meets the ear and Central Belters makes and rests the case in one fell swoop.

This is St. Vincent in the '20s and she is glorious. The production value is spectacular; her songwriting/production partnership with Jack Antonoff is more than paying off.

Interestingly, the near-constant use of spoken word doesn’t ever become grating. The band have a knack for making their instrumentals minimalistic enough for the vocals to always feel natural while also unique.

At 36 minutes, Girls Can Tell packs more hooks than most bands fit into their entire discography... This is truly one of the most intense pop records since This Year's Model.

Over all, Truth, Liberty & Soul is not necessarily an essential, but no less welcome addition to the Pastorius canon.

Her lyrics are sharp and direct, and the band is there to match her, providing tension and release across all 11 songs. While far from poppy, the songs have a hooky rawness that is addictive.

<A HREF="http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/w/westkanye-lateregistration.shtml" TARGET="_blank">Review #1:</A> The individual tracks vary too much in quality, but West has once again assembled an album that works from start to finish. [score=70]; <A HREF="http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/w/westkanye-lateregistration2.shtml" TARGET="_blank">Review #2:</A> Lyrically, Kanye is still a few credits short of graduating to the next level. [score=70]

This is a brilliant album created by a music virtuoso that will cement Tyler’s solo reputation earned from his 2010 debut, Behold the Spirit.

While Stay Positive might find Finn in existential contemplation of his past, present and future, thankfully it doesn’t keep him away from his observational wisdom in recounting tales of hedonism, naivety, drugs and alcohol in small town America.

Any Other Way is an essential document of a revolutionary talent who should have been much bigger than she ultimately ended up being and now, with any luck and a little help from the fine folks at Numero Group, she’ll finally get her due.

There may be nothing here that Smither hasn't done before, except totally relying on himself for musical material.

Soundtracks is a thorough introduction to Cooder at the movies, essential for fans and film buffs.

Bleach is a stronger record than it is commonly perceived to be, and does deserve to be checked out in some form by fans of heavy riff-driven rock. Regardless, this reissue is underwhelming, seemingly more concerned with enticing Nirvana completists to purchase it for the live material than in illuminating why Nirvana’s first album was an important step in a career that has helped define rock music for the last two decades.

All My Heroes Are Cornballs is not only angry but also gracious, humble, worried, and self-conscious. In other words, it is human.

Sleep Well Beast succeeds due to a simple songwriting decision that, in retrospect, illuminates why High Violet and Trouble Will Find Me fall into ruts.

Pound for pound, the songs of Pause are far more interesting and multi-layered than most of your general ambient music available on the shelves today.... A mesmerizing work.

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.

Even while The 9th Wonder's production tends to lag, Murs is worth listening to on every song.

An incredible album from a band that continues to redefine its boundaries.

Loyalty is an exceptionally affecting masterpiece, at once timeless and very much of its time, highly personal in its specificity and universal in its emotional accessibility and resonance.

They are rich and full with understated textures seamlessly fused together that he allows to stretch and expand or to contract and shrink. In different ways, each of these seven tracks entices you to engage with them, whether it be the way they move your feet or the manner in which they engage your brain.

The album is altogether catchy and enjoyable, and Yola has a mystical and inviting spirit to her voice complimented with the music she, Auerbach, and the Easy Eye musicians weaved.

Fire is Martin’s finest Bug album. It distills both the project’s and his philosophy down to its simplest, purest form. In the process, it says something profound and provides a viscerally entertaining masterclass in bass-driven electronica.

The resulting tension in many of Hynde’s songs comes from the push-pull between connected love and guarded aloneness, and it propels much of Relentless.

Without sacrificing any of the confessional, emotionally rich material that made us love them in the first place, the band has dispensed with self-consciousness and proven their ability to expand upon previously held identities, thus cementing their continuing preeminence in the indie music world.

It is very good. ... There are no major missteps within the album, although not everything works as well as the album’s brightest spots.

Ordinary Corrupt Human Love takes the strengths of its predecessors and refines them even further, which results in a dynamic emotional and musical experience that previous Deafheaven records came close to achieving, but never quite like this.

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.

So if there's one thing Helplessness Blues confirms, it's that he and his band are innovative and dynamic, capable of making music that rises above the disposability of the digital age and lasts a good long while.

There is no other hard rock band around who can match the audacity, intensity, progressive nature, and accessibility of System of a Down, and with Mezmerize, they've simply topped themselves.

This is what is so refreshing about Purple. The band unapologetically attempt to reach beyond the limits of their primary genre’s audience and welcome in anyone who appreciates a good song.

With its multi-layered arrangements and art-rock leanings, it’s miles away from the freaky folk of Me Oh My or Cyrk. But there were times I felt adrift in abstraction and wished for a simple rhyming couplet to ground me. I can hardly fault any artist for wanting to remake and challenge themselves, however, and Cate Le Bon does that successfully with Pompeii.

With Street Halo, he continues to make beautiful, relevant, completely non-partisan music that stands outside ghettoising genre divides.

Sky Burial leaves your earthly remains flayed for the carrion to feast and frees your soul.

The New Pornographers are a recurring reminder of how ebullient this kind of music can be, which makes them radicals of the form.

Benji is the sound of an artist giving his heart to his fans and saying, “Do with it what you will.” That kind of vulnerability is a rare quality in the music business and as such, should be revered.

Small problems aside, For Hero: For Fool is a worthwhile album.

Now it is also clear that Smith joins rank amongst the likes of Pavement or the Clash with a perfectionist ability to craft delightful “throw-away” tracks.

While the record maintains a strong sense of uniformity, it never lapses into monotony, thanks largely to the poetic turns of songs such as "Blackbird" and "Slow" but also Rumer's consistently powerful performances which culminate in a singular and impressive artistic statement.

On Songs of a Killjoy, she innovates in unexpected ways, rejecting the monotony that she could easily embrace for a fully coffee shop-ready repertoire. She challenges herself and her audience to go deeper. By the time the album is halfway through, it feels almost impossible to escape her gravitational pull--and unthinkable that anyone would even want to do so.

Taken as a whole, Please, Pleasure, and Patience represent Lerche's finest work as a musician.

It’s easy to get lost in the groove of Wolf’s music; perhaps you can find yourself there, too, and see the world in new bold colors.

The Drift--in all its nightmarish, bloody glory--is as bold and profound a comment on our times as has emerged so far this century.

OnPlague, Miller provides the listener with an insight into what makes it and what doesn’t, and by serving it to us in a warts-and-all three-disc package, he positively chokes us with his output, daring us to swallow it as a whole.

In the end, Happy Songs might sound like Mogwai's earlier work or be unapproachable to the listener who spends his time chilling in Sam Goody, but that doesn't mean it's not one of the most amazing albums of the year.

For all its gonzo, crackpot gestures, Source Tags & Codes is a remarkably coherent work. It stands as the most melodically-inclined album in their catalogue and boasts their strongest songwriting to date.

Strummer's best solo effort and one of the best rock records of the year.

It's hard to pick highlights, but it's always a good sign when you listen to an album for the first time and stop to replay the opening track three times. It's that good.

This is an album greater than the sum of its genre-related parts, a masterpiece of musical control and an outstanding next step for Adia Victoria as storyteller and singer alike.

As an album, it is both as lovably outrageous as Danny Brown, but also as menacing and impenetrable as his city is. Ultimately, it is this duality that makes Atrocity Exhibition the masterpiece it is.

Marling wanders and wonders what it’s all about. Her journey enriches us all.

As deeply interwoven into the fabric of her films as Tindersticks's work is, it's more than strong enough to stand alone, providing an intense and immersive emotional experience in its own right.

The album opener, "Kisses", seems quite typical at first with whisper-soft vocals and cloudy piano chords riding quarter notes. Yet the chorus is over before you realize it's begun, and then the song slows and seemingly stops for a breath. Then suddenly, it's burst into a beautiful yet understated coda. The album is full of unexpected, wonderful twists like this.

This is his first studio album in four years, and it shows he’s not lost his touch.

After you let it seep its way into your daily life, Smother reveals itself as the type of masterwork so fragile and unobtrusive as to leave itself vulnerable to being brushed away by those listeners without patience. Don't let yourself be among them.

It’s too bad really, that Have One on Me is so overdone because there’s a decent album hidden somewhere in there.

It's that fire that is prominent more on this collection than on any of the others, only because it chronicles the stubborn teenager as she was making that breathless transition into a strong woman.

With De Vermis Mysteriis, the beauty of High on Fire is visible therein, as enjoyment may be found on numerous levels.

With Things Have Changed, Bettye Lavette hasn't just joined the ranks of first-rate Dylan interpreters, female and male--she's taken her place as leader of the pack.

Recorded in only two days, the unit plays tight yet carefree bringing an airiness to the songs. This is a true feel-good country record that should generate repeated play. Childers is the real deal; the joy and grit in these songs are pure hill country.

Acoustic is a dream, a blissful installment in a career that continues to flourish.