Tonight We Dance

As its name implies, Kablammo! is exuberant and energetic, from two-minute power-pop blasts (“Cocoon,” “Shutdown”) to the yelping “Hedonism” and the standout “Go! Fight! Win!,” which pairs stomping cheerleader chants with a ferocious, riff-happy guitar solo.

The heart and intent behind the lyrics and music, the effort so clearly put forth is what is supposed to translate and it does. Most of the growth on this record comes in the form of more textured and dynamic instrumentals, and glossy, but not necessarily overtly “made for radio” production.

What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World explores a much wider range of topics than their previous literature/storyline-bound themes could have possibly covered, and the result is hands down the most emotive release of The Decemberists’ career.

Few bands can return after a 13-year absence and sound vital and fresh, transforming an old-school approach into a process that sounds original. That’s precisely what Desaparecidos have done, making Payola a welcome comeback surprise.

Kintsugi is very much a companion piece to Codes And Keys, but where that album sounded like a group at ease with some emotional distance, the new record brings back the heartache and longing in a big way.

Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance is the purest expression of the big, bright sounds that have always been within the band, visions of Belle & Sebastian as Naked-era Talking Heads or an ABBA for 2015.

Gentle, subtle, poignant, Barnett is almost crooning as she talks disappointment and expectation, and she has a photographer’s eye for detail when it comes to the otherwise mundane.

There’s more than a convincing argument that ‘No Cities To Love’ could be Sleater-Kinney’s finest work to date. Honed to their sharpest point, it’s certainly their most immediate.

‘Short Movie’ is the record of an artist shaking her life up, spending a little more time peering at the stars and resisting the lure of the familiar.

Like the injury it’s named after, Baker’s nine-track album is a distinctive affair; ‘Sprained Ankle’ is uncompromisingly heartfelt to the point that it is physically affecting.