Bjork has described 'Vulnicura' as an account of pain that simply had to be given expression. Such a statement may be thought grandiose if spoken by a lesser artist; for Bjork, however, it rings as completely genuine. This is an artist who may have earned a position as musical spokesperson for humanity to the universe.

Working the independent, underground rap game as tirelessly as Doomtree does requires constant effort and constant output, and you can hardly knock the crew for stepping up to the plate to smack another album into the outfield. All Hands is a fine album, and plenty of these songs are sure to endure in the live setting.

On their seventh album, The Decemberists continue their trajectory away from the fictive, toward the personal. This album delivers more inquiry into the human condition while retaining some of the band's trademark whimsy.

Catfish and the Bottlemen are a quintessential guitar-driven, modern-rock band who make modern rock exciting again. Their debut album, 'The Balcony', reveals the same confidence heard in their live performances.

The self-deprecating music Field Report churn out merits charm through its relatability, especially to Midwesterners. 'Marigolden' sounds like winter: Its songs are sharp and perhaps a little bitter, yet loosely cloaked in a faint hope for warmer and sunnier days.

Producer Ralph Sall lined up a stunning roster of vocalists to match the 34 Paul McCartney-penned tracks on this collection of songs, the best selections of which stray farthest from the originals.

Yesterday, D'Angelo released 'Black Messiah,' his first studio album since 'Voodoo' - and it is another masterpiece.

On their third album, Rural Alberta Advantage continue to ponder themes of anxiety, love and place, while maintaining their signature sound and continuing to create tight, catchy folk-pop songs.

With the release of the lead single, "I Don't Want to Change You," from Damien Rice's new outing, 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy,' social networks lit up with adulation and praise, as if an old best friend had suddenly re-emerged after a long absence.

T-Bone Burnett received a gift from Bob Dylan, out of the blue: a scrapbook of lyrics written forty-something years ago but never set to music. Burnett assembled a supergroup of artists and recorded the tunes at Capitol Records in Hollywood, and the resulting album largely succeeds. Even Bob Dylan's cast-off ideas make really good songs.