Kanye West – Yeezus
“9.5” – Read the full review on Pitchfork

Sigur Ros – Kveikur
Short of a Scott Walker-esque turn for the bleakly absurd, Kveikur (“Candlewick”) will probably be as dark as Sigur Rós will ever get. Melancholy and anger aren’t foreign concepts to the ethereally beautiful world of this Icelandic trio, whose lineup was shortened by one with the departure of keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson in 2012. On their career peak ()—known commonly as “The Bracket Album”—the group channeled their orchestral style into an exploration of the somber side of beautiful. The grey introspection of the 2011 live CD/DVD Inni further added to the undercurrent of gloom in the band’s music. Though Sigur Rós will be perpetually known as the guys who wowed the world with the otherworldly gorgeousness of Ágætis byrjun, the broad brush strokes the group is often painted with by critics ignore the threads of the morose that run throughout their discography. Read the full review on Pop Matters

Bill Frisell – Big Sur
There’s not a whole lot of soloing or Frisell’s notorious excursions to the edge, but for those who dig that side of him, he does bare a little teeth against a bluegrass backdrop on “Hawks.” Frisell lets his hair down again, but in a distinctly California way on the backbeat driven, beach rock of “The Big One” and the presence of three orchestral stringed instruments does nothing to water down that feel. The same goes for “Highway 1,” where Royston’s swampy rock pace is exploited by everyone else, conjuring up something of a chamber version of the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Read the full review on Something Else