Seattle's Tacocat returns with This Mess Is a Place, a stellar new album in which the band confronts existential crisis and embraces widescreen guitar-based pop.
Dinosaur Jr. guitarist/vocalist J Mascis carries on with his trademark solo sound on Elastic Days, producing another intricate work that mixes folk and rock.
Sam Beam returns to his roots with a warm acoustic record which is often understated but packed with emotional power and arguably his strongest vocal performance to date
Porter Ray's rapping on Watercolor is relaxed but quick, a style that emphasizes the intellectual bent to many of his rhymes, but intentionally fails to prepare you for the weight of his message.
Recreating the magic of something like Apologies to the Queen Mary is no easy feat, yet it shines as a stunning example for those who might want to make music matter again.
