Piramida's faults lie in the gaps. Each track stands on its own; they begin slow and end long, which isn't an issue until it becomes a pattern.

While these graduates are busy looking for a nail on which to hang their new diplomas, make sure you've got a needle to play their new record.

The reality is that Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon is the musical equivalent of a grape soda--it tastes familiar, but it's just not quite a grape.

Runner is The Sea and Cake's most unusual album, in spite of being so rhythmically conventional, and altogether gorgeous.

When she puts that voice in the service of songs about motherhood and feminist progress, as she frequently does here, it's enough to shake anyone's blood awake.

With Taveniere choosing to feather dust his Rear House recording tendencies for this go-round, Bend Beyond comes off as a bold, bright statement.

There's no pulling them out of the abyss on this defiantly downcast Calexico record.

Although Total Loss focuses on the deterioration of relationships over time, it's interesting that each track inverts that idea by flourishing with every second that passes.

It's not that Moms is anything less than a solid record (it's a pretty strong one, even, from a band that has yet to truly disappoint), but it's telling when on the penultimate track, "Don't Mess With Latexas," Seim sounds a bit deflated.

Thirty years in, Mann continues to charm, a hidden glint in her eye.

After four triumphant releases, and no matter where they go, it's clear we can trust Band of Horses, one of America's biggest and best rock and roll bands, to deliver.

It's Mascis plodding on, warbling apathetically and then suddenly breaking into his shimmering birdsong. What motivates the consummate slacker band to continue is beyond all of us. But is anyone complaining?

Here, the band has returned from the cold with a tight, extraordinary album that is lush and satisfying--yet still in the corners just a little bit sad.

If listening to sentimental techno ballads about giving up the days of tits and cocaine is what you want to do with an hour of your time, look no further.

Messy yet polished guitars surge through swathes of melodic white noise while the tracks are still able to maintain an impressive sharpness.

The whole thing is less bratty than 2009's Echo Kid.

The collection features spacey landscapes and gentle-though-firm beats layered with those signature nostalgic harmonies.

Their new record O' Be Joyful is a delightful combination of knee-slapping, bordering-on-gospel folk tracks and bluesy guitar-driven rock.

there's an overwhelming sense of intimacy hanging over the album's 43 minutes, thanks to lyrics heavy on introspection and a sound served well by a new studio packed with vintage and analog gear.

Sea Wolf's latest crafts a retrospective piece that lingers just long enough to instill in the listener an undeniable poignancy.

The North Carolina natives mix the boisterousness with the balladry well, while delivering image-evoking lyrics in between.

Silver Age [is] his strongest, most searing collection of songs since Sugar.

The xx has refined its sound, creating an even sparser atmosphere. But there is strength in this minimalism.

As if the Everly Brothers channeled Norma Desmond, Observator is the sweet sound of summertime sadness.

A bit less slapdash punk and more laid-back vintage California sound, it feels like the wooziest acid-fueled daydreams of Brian Wilson.

Love This Giant is a sprawling behemoth, if not greater than the sum of its parts, then certainly twice as weird.

Kitsch aside, Amanda Palmer is one hell of a musician and lyricist, and this album, thankfully, makes good on its million-dollar expectations.

At points, the overly sappy lyrics are sung with fervor and match the passion put into the music, but ultimately, the album doesn't feel cohesive.