Humor Risk proves that striking a balance doesn't necessarily imply stasis.

Parallax is easily Atlas Sound's best-sounding album to date.

So while it can't really stand alone, it plays awfully well with its musical sibling.

Divine Providence is the group's best album to date, but doesn't necessarily have its best songs to date.

This tribute has a back-to-the-future quality, a sad wave at a sensibility that has slipped out of our reach: lost, indeed.

The balance of Conatus comes off a bit too formulaic and familiar; after a while, you realize it's sort of one-trick, with Danilova pairing her--admittedly stunning-voice and platitude-heavy lyrics with stomping electro beats.

There's nothing on Gauntlet Hair that rivals the pop-minded immediacy or the floor-stomping clamor of "I Was Thinking...," but it still manages to wade deeper into an abyss that few bands manage to come out of successfully.

Sure, the albums is filled with grand, sweeping sonic statements, but they seem to come from a place in extremely close proximity to the art-rock icon's heart. That's why it works.

Empros proves Russian Circles' ability once again, without going horribly out of its way to prove something or make some sort of grand statement.

Overall, though, Days is a great sophomore album and solid evidence that Real Estate is growing and ready to settle in for the long haul.

With less of the anxiety that marked his earlier albums, that world is a joy to get lost in over and over.

If there's an item of ironic animal print clothing hanging in your closet or you know the difference between a porkpie and a derby, then chances are you'll find something to like about Hanni El Khatib's debut effort.

It's all spare and often dark, but Breaks in the Armor is a surprisingly comforting album in its cloudy way.

More than the last few albums, Wolfroy rewards this kind of close relationship between listener and performer.

So while High Places have neatly avoided getting stuck in a rut on Original Colors, daring to reinvent themselves into a more motion-friendly group, fans of their first couple of albums should still find the overall mood sufficiently low-key to provide easy access.

It's a brief, delightful little thing, with a handful of knockout singles.

Water is leagues more mature than last year's In Evening Air--the production more robust, the lyrics more evocative of people who've been around long enough to know what's worth lamenting.

Believers is another step away from Bondy's noisy past, and he knows how to use his inside voice.

At the heart of it though, we're still left with what's Björk's been doing for most her whole life: music.

The record's general aesthetic stays the same, docile sounds, pitter-patter polyrhythms, and shimmering vocals, but the ear-tickling mutations along the way is the appeal.

Ultimately, Hearts is an adolescent album in every conceivable sense.

Like his rhyming, his production is sophisticated, earnest, and maybe could benefit from a dose of rawness.

It's an uneven record in some ways--that middle sequence weighs it down and Feist still feels undersold as a band leader in the studio too often--but while that may be what keeps it from the finding the same success its predecessor did, it's also what makes Metals the more exciting album to dig into.

The Whole Love has the band giving more than in the recent past, but the combustible musical debate at the band's core seems largely to have ceased. Wilco may still have the ability to thrill, but they've lost the ability to surprise.

Taylor doesn't get caught up in making his sounds too big, too large, or too much. He could, but he doesn't. He maintains control, doesn't get lost, and the result are nothing short of terrific.

Through its happy welding of superb vocals and tactical percussion, Gold Leaves achieves a timeless quality, with a bright future on the horizon.

Twin Sister live up to their advance press here: They're a good band with room to grow, and a couple great songs.

For the most part Only in Dreams is a sound that is firmly theirs.