Night Fiction is beautifully played, full of the clean, lovely sounds that can be made on traditional rock instruments, but it’s not very memorable.

The rest is a mix from great (Glen Hansard’s “Pressing On” and Deer Tick’s “Night After Night”) to the not so much (Aaron Freeman’s “Wiggle Wiggle”).

At a half hour, Too True might seem brief, but Penny makes the most of every minute.

L.A. Takedown often errs on the side of too much perfection, but here, a little messed up, it soars.

Cosmic concoctions of this sort are all too rare these days, so it’s rather refreshing to hear this sound revisited, particularly with the added investment in melody that Elephant Stone tends to allow.

Subtlety and finesse are the watchwords here, two elements that deliver artistic intrigue.

He's a vibrant and, indeed, impassioned performer and Bad Ingredients is filled with enough passion and conviction to spark an entire orchestra. And a rousing ensemble at that.

Not a far stretch from 2011's Reptilians, Miracle Mile is, sonically speaking, lateral to its predecessors. But it holds enough well-crafted tunes to make for an enjoyable album.

Wholly enjoyable, but nothing revelatory.

Woodland Echoes, his latest solo album, is cohesive and strong and despite being a little more mellow than some of his earlier offerings, would fits nicely alongside his work from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Mountains composes the soundtrack to dreams you didn't know you had.

What they do is ply their trade with heaping dollops of Muscle Shoals soul, fiercely funky grooves and southern rock swagger, all doled out in substantial doses on This River, that hang heavy with the humidity of Grey’s Florida homeland.

Temples aren’t reinventing anything here so much as adding a distinctly British twist to well-trodden ground.

Another solid step in their ongoing evolution, These United States constitutes a genuine declaration of independence.

The raison d’etre here is warhammer shred, with little mercy and less restraint.

Jurado still seems fully intent on liberating his music while evading expectation.

Contrary to its title, Do Not Disturb might prove disturbing to those whose tastes don’t necessarily allow for introspection of intrigue, but for those that miss the adventure and ambition British prog rock once had to offer, it’s well worth the risk.

Though there are still plenty of the Fleet Foxes-meets-Beach Boys elements to much of this new record, it also finds the band branching out with new sounds.

The members of Gardens & Villa may spend a lot of time outdoors, but they're probably listening to Human League on headphones as they tiptoe through the thorns.

Growing up in the Nottingham projects may have given Bugg enough life experience to get away with penning “Seen It All,” but it’s his sonic aesthetic that give his tales truth.

The band is tight, and the music ebbs and flows as usual; it just doesn’t go anywhere original. I hope the band will be able to right the shjip on their next effort.

At its most affecting What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is a sad and touching record, filled with love and the memory of .... Parts of [the album] feel either disposable or a revisiting of old ground.

This is the kind of show that often carries a “had to be there” air, especially given the heavy participation of the crowd and the freewheeling nature of the performance. But Chilton’s charm and talent make Electricity By Candlelight wear surprisingly well.

Opening the door of your mind’s eye to the psychedelic sludge and acid punk hooks of Slave Vows will gain you a lot of decadent pleasure, little insight and even less mercy.

The results meld as mood music of the highest variety--dense yet delicate, edgy and yet elegiac.

The impotence of railing against it is a theme running through a lot of the record, and in the case of Nightingale Floors, coming to terms with the past has freed Rogue Wave to turn in what might be their finest work.

This pet project of Jack White uses all the clichés in spades on their self-titled release, The Black Belles.

This LA-based hardcore band turns out their most consistently solid set of songs yet; a dozen tracks of distorted guitars, machine gun drumming and throat-reddening vocals.