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This British band has finally released the follow-up to their classic 1991 album Loveless, and while mbv is a bit more subdued and downbeat than before, it also finds the band expertly recapturing their classic loud and hazy sound while also subtly expanding upon it with churning waves of distorted (and not-so-distorted) guitars, atmospheric keyboards, hypnotic rhythms, ethereal, half-buried vocals and dreamy melodies. 2/4/2013 -Don Yates

The latest album from the renowned British folk-rocker is one of his finest latter-day records, with a muscular, often-edgy sound injected with plenty of complex and fiery guitar solos, though there are also some gorgeous bittersweet ballads. He’s also in fine lyrical form, ruminating over lost love and working-class angst with prickly precision on songs balancing acerbic wit with heartfelt poignancy. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

This New York band’s debut full-length is a fine set of shoegazer psych-rock reminiscent of ‘90s bands like Chapterhouse and Slowdive, with a hazy, ethereal sound featuring atmospheric guitars, hushed vocals and dreamy melodies. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

The first US release from this London-based band led by Nathan Hewitt collects their first two British EPs onto one disc. It’s a promising set of ‘90s-inspired rock reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub and Sugar, combining rumbling, distorted guitar lines, hazy vocals, warm harmonies and sparkling pop melodies. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

The third Sin Fang album from Seabear frontman Sindri Mar Sigfusson is his brightest, most polished and assured release to date. Using a producer for the first time (Alex Somers, who’s produced Sigur Ros and Jonsi), the sound is intricately constructed and richly textured with various keyboards, guitars, strings, horns, percussion and layered vocals for an adventurous yet hook-filled blend of electro-pop, orchestral folk-pop and psychedelia. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

This Seattle duo’s debut full-length is a promising set of New Waveish garage-punk with fuzzy bass and baritone guitar lines, bashing drums, nasal vocals and bright pop hooks. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

This LA band’s excellent second album is considerably bleaker and more subdued than their effervescent 2010 debut Gorilla Manor. Co-produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner and the band (Dessner also plays on the album and contributed to the songwriting, while his brother and bandmate Bryce Dessner contributed some string and horn arrangements), Hummingbird is a more sophisticated and fully realized take on the band’s expansive folk-pop, with a consistently strong set of beautifully crafted, densely textured songs combining a variety of lush instrumentation with darker, more introspective lyrics and the band’s sublime warm harmonies. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

This Seattle band’s official debut album is a first-rate blend of melodic indie-pop, bluesy rock and ‘70s-influenced soul, featuring a full, beautifully produced sound combining keyboards and guitars with pounding rhythms and Galen Disston’s powerful, wailing vocals. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

The debut full-length from Montreal artist (and Grimes cohort) Airick Woodhead (aka Doldrums) is a mesmerizing set of fractured electro-pop with frenetic, densely textured songs combining chopped samples, trippy ambient textures, industrialized tribal beats, eerie falsetto vocals and sticky pop melodies. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

The debut full-length album from this Toronto-based boyfriend/girlfriend duo – Raphaelle Standel-Preston (also a member of BRAIDS) and Alexander Cowan – is a stunning set of sexy, emotional, soulful electronic/pop that marries hypnotic production full of warm synths, romantic low-end textures, and masterfully manipulated vocal samples with Raphaelle's beautiful voice and ethereal harmonies. While there's traces of Björk, Grimes, Julianna Barwick, and Glasser throughout, Untogether is a thoroughly unique, immersive, rewarding listen start-to-finish. 2/1/2013 -Alex

The second album from this San Diego band led by John Reis (Hot Snakes, Rocket From the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu) is an excellent set of fierce garage-punk with grimy guitar licks, pounding rhythms, throaty vocals, sardonic lyrics and catchy song hooks. 2/1/2013 -Don Yates

This Seattle band’s second album is a gorgeous set of chamber folk-pop with a lush, acoustic-oriented sound combining cello, viola, trumpet, clarinet, accordion, piano, guitars and drums with Matt Bishop’s plaintive tenor and the band’s airy harmonies on beautifully crafted songs with poignant lyrics and heart-tugging melodies. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

The breakout release from prolific local musician/producer Scot Porter (aka Vox Mod) is a stellar effort that displays his singular driving, synth-heavy, space-bound production style with a knockout cast of contributing vocalists. Co-produced by Erik Blood (who appears on "Ecophony Infinitum," one of two standout bookending singles), SYN-ÆSTHETIC employs propulsive, skittering drums, celestial analogue synths, and enveloping atmospherics to create a cohesive sci-fi-leaning sonic world that smoothly revolves around its diverse guests, , including Shabazz Palaces' Ishmael Butler (aka Palaceer Lazaro), Jahcoozi, and Rik Rude (aka Rude Boutique). 1/25/2013 -Alex

This LA band’s debut album is an exhilarating set of adrenaline-fueled surf-punk blended with garage rock, power pop, classic LA hardcore, Ramones, Replacements and early Beastie Boys, with a raucous sound featuring buzzsaw guitars, tight, energetic rhythms, bratty vocals, hedonistic, anti-authoritarian lyrics and anthemic song hooks. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

This Welsh trio’s second album is an even more massive-sounding set of epic dream-pop incorporating elements of shoegazer psych-rock, prog, metal and more on towering, dynamic songs with walls of roaring guitars, pummeling rhythms, catchy pop hooks and singer/guitarist Ritzy Bryan’s ethereal vocals. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

The debut album from this Brooklyn band led by Brian Harding (ex-Hymns) and Amalie Bruun (ex-Minks) is an excellent set of psych-tinged dream-pop with a hazy, reverbed sound combining jangly guitars, atmospheric synths, soft vocals and dreamy melodies. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

This Scottish band’s fourth album is another emotionally stirring set of anthemic folk-pop, with a huge, densely produced sound combining reverberating guitars and urgent rhythms with Scott Hutchinson’s impassioned vocals and dark, brutally honest lyrics. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

Lost Animal is the new solo project of Jarrod Quarrell, who used to be the keyboardist in Australian band St. Helens. His debut album under that name is a promising set of moody indie-pop combining icy synths, piano, xylophone, atmospheric guitars and occasional tropical touches (including marimba and steel drum sounds) with bouncy rhythms, sneering vocals and dark lyrics. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

The fourth album from this San Francisco-based band led by Thao Nguyen is a sparkling set of playful folk-pop using a variety of colorful acoustic and electric instrumentation for a vibrant, sunny sound on sharply crafted songs that show Nguyen developing a stronger politically charged edge to her songwriting. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates

The first US release from this British band fronted by Jessica Weiss is an eight-song mini-album collecting their initial British singles along with some rarities. It’s a fine set of atmospheric dream-pop with a reverb-drenched sound contrasting uplifting pop melodies and light vocals with dark lyrics. 1/25/2013 -Don Yates