The complex emotional duality of the disc is nothing less than penetrating. Most of the tracks are danceable as well as lonesome, and can be enjoyed in a variety of settings.

The slightly pretentious concept, though, is balanced by the equally lavish music and specifically Khan's voice.

As with any such wildly anticipated album, the reverse motion could be a case of perspective, of personal expectations being insurmountably high, because Now We Can See is by no means a bad album. It just seems a little pedestrian for such a talented and unique band.

Every song is steeped in melancholy, but the underlying beauty that ties it all together is in the courage of Ashworth's characters to face the unforgiving reality they occupy.

If this is the band's "Parallel Lines," they've brought tunes worth comparing.

Lost Channels is still comforting, except now instead of misery finding company, Great Lake Swimmers have made an album that reaches down, and pulls you out of the darkness and into the light that was always there.

Casting off songs entirely for 17 parts that to their cult make a sum, I was sure this would be the one where I could finally take my other foot off the doorstop....[But] the fresh voices and staged character interplay keep Meloy's pretensions from boiling over, and loathe as I am to admit, two of the four title tracks culminate in something like hooks.

If they ultimately self-destruct as they appear to be these days, their legacy is hopefully remembered for self-produced fuzz-rock and sloppy onstage antics. More importantly, hopefully they're remembered.

An interesting listen, Face Control has an eerie vibe, as though something beneath the surface is just a bit off.

The songs were full of meaning and memories.

The thirteen-song cycle does a lot to support the minor hype that's built around the band, yet simultaneously flattens some of the bubbling hyperbole.

In this case I've been compelled to return a lot. Weird accomplishment for a pop singer. It's a five-or-six-listens album.

Timeless and universal, everyone can identify with Willie Nelson's songs, as sung by Houck, as Phosphorescent's tales of heartbreak, wasted youth, and harsh introspection.

For a band noted for their precious aesthetics, their secretly aggressive riffs and jabbing zings are the most essential facets to their authenticity.

Throughout Merriweather Post Pavilion the band mixes instrumentation and samples and voices in a way that seems to be an advanced or accelerated development of past triumphs.

Although it teases at the contrary for its first half, the idea that we really have no idea quite what to expect from the future of Bon Iver is the greatest gift this four-song breath gives us.

Their singles have always been enjoyable, and the increasing diversity and confidence exhibited on Day & Age could hint that it might not be so far fetched to expect great albums from the Killers in the future.

The BBC Sessions comes on the heels of "Push Barman to Open Old Wounds," which succeeded simply because it made neat work of the "Lazy Line Painter Jane EP Box," but BBC Sessions seems to somehow simultaneously offer more and less than that compilation.

Although the material could certainly stand on its own without all of its dressings, Canopy Glow is a more complete, dynamic experiment because of them.

The Bronx III is muscular and solid and is, more often than not, good clean fun.

While the similarities to Morretti's other group are what make Little Joy so easy to digest, they are also what make it seem somewhat unremarkable.

Smalldone's solemn and controlled croon, though subtly emotive, amounts to dismal verbosity. The Red River is a serious, introspective project that, like the narrating wanderer, shows no signs of its roots.

There is experimentation for the sake of experimentation and experimentation for sake of enjoyment. Money, unfortunately, is mostly the former.

Deerhunter have indeed created a masterpiece. While it's not perfect, it has the charm and scope and full realization that was lacking in the band's earlier work.

Spacey, ambient, and vaguely tribal, Alpinisms creates a landscape to get lost in. Despite their differing musical backgrounds, the band has a cohesive sound.

The sound on Alight of Night is a swinging, noisy, glammy and overall dark evolution of garage rock.

Intricate and ever-changing in style, The Sea and Cake give further proof why they've had such staying power.

It sounds more like half an album than an EP. It also sounds more like half-an-album than half-assed.