The cuts that utilize Batoh's brain-pulse method are nevertheless striking pieces of electronic minimalism -- stark and compelling.

Rather than the stripped-down or lonely songs that so often accompany the bill of "solo effort," these five songs are as polished, highly wrought, ornamental--take your pick--as any on Veckatimest.

THEESatisfaction's awE naturalE is one of the most adventurous and tradition-bending hip-hop albums of the year, and further cements Sub Pop as the place for imaginative, left-field hip-hop.

Fin creates a passionate kind of poetry not only in its music but also in its listeners.

On her second album, Sees the Light, Goodman has tweaked the La Sera formula slightly to create an engaging record that plays to her strengths as a pop craftsman.

Mostly Lee Ranaldo has created a mid-crisis record that sounds more powerful than frustrated, more strong in its beauty than reactionary in its power.

A Church That Fits Our Needs isn't easy to define, but it is easy to get lost in.

Break it Yourself dodges the feedback of erring too closely to its own sources--but not all of it soars.

Eric Emm and Jess Cohen have produced an album is both substantially intelligent and undeniably fun in equal measure.

Father Creeper is his greatest achievement thus far, succeeding, if nothing else, as demanding listeners to enter his warped headspace.

Formulas churn out reliable, consistent results, but "reliable and consistent" art doesn't always inspire a passionate response.

While still mostly a success, Zoo marks the first time where Ceremony do not seem 100% sure of their own identity.

It's an album that purges the nastiness of its predecessor and switches things up enough without sacrificing its power, a template that hopefuly they remember to follow.

Milk Famous is a full-on declaration, a confident pop record that shows us this band as a collection of unique performers.

The album is so cleanly produced that it sounds like they can't afford a flaw. And ironically, it's this seeming aversion to being perceived as imperfect that holds them back.

Put Your Back N 2 It is a deeply affecting album, but also a plainspoken one.

Rock tropes work well for them. They shouldn't be afraid to embrace that in perpetuity.

It represents the peak of their career to date, excising the self-indulgent tendencies of before and replacing it with raw, spontaneous, and unfettered power and release that simultaneously addresses the visceral and refined.

Above all, One Second Of Love is a triumph of atmospherics and arrangements.

Here, Mind Spiders achieve what every delirious party-goer wants: a celebration that stretches to infinity.

Instead of it being just another Earth 2.0 album though, the completed Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light is a successful experiment in sounding absolutely huge while doing so little, and the confirming masterstroke of Carlson's new direction.

Parastrophics is a capable release that can soundtrack a Bacchanalian night in the city.

While the unabashed pop moments on Interstellar are truly great and welcome, Rose easily proves she's capable of more daring things.

For all the noise and bluster they kick up to start off the record, Toward the Low Sun is at its best when it's an unassuming return, when the beauty and power of the songs sneak up on us.

Dudes may not be your mom's secret recipe for home-made pancakes, but the music is consistent, healthy, and in the right mood, quite delicious.

There's no doubt that Grimes has drawn from a sea of influence to craft her dark, structured, idiosyncratic sound, but those influences have all passed through a filter so thorough, have been pulled so far from context, that the most striking thing left is Claire Boucher's point of view.

Thorburn anchors every note, every contribution with a personal outpouring of emotion and heartbreak, the likes of which we've never seen from him before.

on Arrow, it's more fun when they swagger around like the road-tested ramblers they've become.