FLOOD

The Toronto noise-punks’ fifth LP sees their familiarly angular guitars working through melodies that range from ear-sweetening to atonal, furthering the mystery that is the band METZ.

Their sophomore album sees the Leeds-based trio overcoming grief over instrumental flourishes that recall yesteryear while artfully resisting the lure of entering a time machine.

After a relatively long wait, Matt Pike’s sludge-metal outfit returns with their most adventurous, pigeonhole-smashing, and idiosyncratic release to date.

As they wrap up their current set of dates supporting their new album, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein discuss how their unique eleventh LP is the product of unique circumstances.

The Canadian punks’ Polaris-winning sophomore LP proved that hardcore could stray outside of its traditionally narrow confines without sacrificing the band’s reputation within the genre.

The Modesto lo-fi outfit proves there’s still plenty of life yet in the twice-retired project as they ambitiously venture into uncharted waters.

The remastered 2008 LP is rounded out with B-sides and BBC live recordings which further immerse the listener in the time period.

The Canadian duo blossoms into their own on their soft and breezy sophomore collection of hypnagogic folk pop.

The Alabama Shakes vocalist’s larger-than-life-sounding voice dominates her sophomore solo album as she addresses themes of self-empowerment, self-motivation, and moving on.

Justin Pearson breaks down the themes and collaborations that formed his second full-length with the deeply experimental synth-punk project.

The DC garage-pop band throws caution to the wind on their fourth album, which sounds as fresh as a debut as they tear through 13 songs in what feels like the time it takes to flip to Side B.

Moving at a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed that never ceases to captivate, the post-punk quartet makes a case for appreciating life and all its wonders at breakneck speed on their second LP.

Remixed and remastered, the post-hardcore group’s 2013 LP sounds crisper here, with a cleaner separation of sound that does far more justice to the tight performances by each band member.

The second installment in the Spaceman Reissue Program series brings more clarity to J. Spaceman’s uncharacteristically collaborative, exuberant, and sincere 2003 effort.

The pop-punk trio try to make sense of the present moment while continuing to push the project’s boundaries toward easy-to-digest rock songs nicely balanced by soft punk flourishes.

Here are 24 of the most stylish, bizarre, and NSFW items still available to purchase at your favorite artist’s webstore to commemorate a particularly interesting year in music.

From alt-country in Boise to melodic death metal in Central Europe, our most diem-carpe-ing contributor ranks his experiences after witnessing nearly 150 sets over the course of 365 days.

The five songs on Rick Maguire and his band’s soft follow-up to last year’s All Fiction exude a cozy feel that favors a comfortable, even homespun-sounding, experience.

On the heels of its 30th anniversary—inspiring a massive remastered box set and an expanded version of Michael Azerrad’s iconic band biography—we look back on the LP that unexpectedly gave Nevermind a run for its money.

The focus of the Montreal-based songwriter’s impossibly quiet second record is squarely on tapping into the natural world and reminding us of the wonders that it provides us with.