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My Robot Friend is a New York-based musical/performance art project led by Howard Robot. His 3rd album is a consistently winning set of catchy electro-pop with a bit of acoustic guitar strumming and some emotionally vulnerable lyrics adding some welcome warmth to the proceedings. Special guests include Alison Moyet and Luna’s Dean Wareham. 2/8/2010 -Don Yates

The debut album from this DC project headed by John Davis (former drummer of Q And Not U and co-leader of Georgie James) is an impressive set of hook-filled power pop reminiscent of New Pornographers and Ted Leo, balancing sugary melodies with dark, melancholy lyrics. Davis also does a fine job of mixing it up stylistically, with nods to reggae, post-punk funk and Byrdsian folk-rock among others. 2/8/2010 -Don Yates

This Swedish band’s 3rd album strips away the excess studio gloss that gussied up their last album for a more musically direct approach that still delivers an abundance of pop charms. Recorded at Woodinville’s Bear Creek Studio with producer Phil Ek, Work may not be ultra-polished, but it’s still a very sweet-sounding pop record, filled with chiming guitars, soaring melodies and gorgeous harmonies, along with dark, lovelorn lyrics that provide a nice counterbalance to the band’s pure pop. 2/8/2010 -Don Yates

The Philadelphia rapper Freeway collaborated with Seattle producer Jake One on this excellent set of straight-up hip hop pairing Freeway’s grainy, high-pitched vocal style and hard-hitting raps with Jake One’s lean and mean productions powered by thick, banging beats and some killer funk and soul samples. 2/4/2010 -Don Yates

Dev Hynes’ second album as Lightspeed Champion is more assured, polished and adventurous than his fine debut (2008’s Falling Off the Lavender Bridge), substituting that album’s rootsy production for a bigger, bolder orchestral pop sound. While he sometimes overreaches, most of these songs connect in a big way with elaborate, dynamic arrangements and soaring pop melodies. 2/4/2010 -Don Yates

Hurricane Lanterns is Seattle singer-songwriter Patrick Dodd. His debut album is a remarkably accomplished set of moody folk-rock featuring one smartly arranged, emotionally searing song after another, ranging from buzzing, energetic rockers to stark, acoustic-oriented ballads. 2/4/2010 -Don Yates

This Seattle band featuring ex-members of the Blood Brothers, Shoplifting and Chromatics follows up last year’s Strange Symmetry EP with this excellent debut album of rhythmic post-punk. Produced by Steve Fisk, Tapestry of Webs is a huge step up from the EP, featuring a flinty, yet richly textured sound incorporating elements of punk, dub, surf and more, with a variety of memorable songs bristling with bright vocal harmonies and catchy pop hooks. 1/29/2010 -Don Yates

Recording under the name of Glass Rock, Brooklyn band Tall Firs and Detroit group Soft Location got together for this excellent album of atmospheric psych-pop highlighted by reverbed guitars and Kathy Leisen’s haunting vocals. 1/26/2010 -Don Yates

The third album from this German producer (aka Hendrik Weber) is a masterful set of ambient techno grooves blending house and techno rhythms with intricately layered, gradually building loops of delicate chimes, chilly synths, found sounds and more into tracks of shimmering, icy beauty. 1/26/2010 -Don Yates

The most important hardcore band to emerge in the past decade, these Toronto provocateurs have released dozens of singles through the years. This 2-CD set is their 2nd singles collection (the first being 2004’s Epics in Minutes). Along with some stellar singles, this set also includes some fine b-sides, alternate takes and previously unreleased songs. Taken as a whole, it clearly demonstrates the band’s expansive approach to hardcore didn’t begin with 2008’s Polaris prize-winning The Chemistry of Common Life, but has been a part of their natural evolution from the beginning (along with smart, righteous politics and the desire to have a good time). 1/22/2010 -Don Yates

The legendary spoken-word artist is back with his first studio album in 15 years. After years of personal troubles, he sounds amazingly vibrant here, reciting emotionally powerful, autobiographical tales accompanied by dark, edgy soundscapes blending hip hop, dubstep and more. 1/22/2010 -Don Yates

The 5th album (and 1st in 4 years) from British producer/multi-instrumentalist Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) blends hypnotic, techno-influenced rhythms, delicate instrumental loops and occasional fragmented vocal samples into adventurous grooves that manage to combine subtle, experimental touches with a warm, blissed-out melodicism. 1/20/2010 -Don Yates

The Brooklyn-based band switches gears on their second album, downplaying the prog-rock and psychedelic influences of their debut in favor of ‘80s-inspired New Wave synth-pop. While sunny harmonies and tribal beats are still a prominent part of the band’s sound, they’re now joined by colorful synths and danceable rhythms in intricate arrangements that are perhaps even more adventurous than those on their fine debut while also delivering plenty of pure pop pleasure. 1/19/2010 -Don Slack

The 9th album from Stephin Merritt & co. was conceived as a companion to Magnetic Fields’ previous release (2008’s Jesus & Mary Chain-inspired Distortion), though it’s very much that album’s opposite. (The original working titles for the records were True and False.) While Distortion was loud, electric and noise-drenched, Realism is an all-acoustic album inspired by expansive late ‘60s-early ‘70s folk. With inventive arrangements featuring a variety of colorful instrumentation ranging from violin, flugelhorn and cello to sitar, accordion and banjo, Realism takes a varied, sometimes theatrical approach to folk, and the songs Merritt wrote for the album are also very diverse, veering from melancholy laments to wonderfully snarky putdowns. 1/15/2010 -Don Yates

While this Baltimore duo offered up plenty of gorgeous atmospherics on their first two albums, their third record of psych-tinged dream-pop also delivers an abundance of great songs, thanks to fuller, warmer production and beautifully detailed arrangements enlivened with quicker tempos and sent heavenward with lush harmonies and sunny melodies. 1/11/2010 -Don Yates

This New York band’s 2nd album ups the ante of their fine debut with a more eclectic, daring and sophisticated sound and even stronger tunes. While the debut offered up a catchy, fairly straightforward blend of Afro-pop and melodic indie, this time they incorporate a greater variety of musical styles including ska, dancehall and baile funk, fleshed out with richer instrumentation ranging from synths and classical-evoking strings to marimba and kalimba. Frontman Ezra Koenig’s lyrics are as brainy as ever, if occasionally inscrutable. These immensely likeable, often-joyful tunes are a welcome counter to these cold, dark months of winter. 1/7/2010 -Don Yates

This Welsh band’s 3rd album finds them continuing to move away from their hyperactive twee-pop beginnings towards a more varied and edgier sound. As with their 2nd album, Romance Is Boring was produced by John Goodmanson (partly in Seattle), and while the band continues to employ a variety of instrumentation from horns and strings to various electronics, distorted electric guitar predominates. And while the songs also contain more lyrical bite, they’re as catchy as ever. 11/30/2009 -Don Yates

This Portland singer-songwriter’s 7th album could very well be the finest record she’s made to date. Produced by Tucker Martine (who’s produced all but one of her albums), July Flame features a beautifully arranged, acoustic-oriented sound, with Veirs’ gentle guitar (and occasional banjo) picking accompanied by an impressive supporting cast using a diverse range of instrumentation, including longtime collaborators Karl Blau and Steve Moore along with Eyvind Kang on viola, the Decemberists’ Chris Funk on various instruments and Austin’s Tosca String Quartet is even featured on a few songs. My Morning Jacket’s Jim James also contributes some heavenly harmony vocals, but it’s Veirs’ own impressive vocals, masterful lyrical imagery and gorgeous melodies that stand out the most on these magical songs of summer’s fleeting days. 11/10/2009 -Don Yates

This Seattle band follows up their promising 2006 debut Hello Zero with another excellent set of mostly low-key roots rock blending folk, country, blues, rock and more. The band uses a wide variety of instrumentation including acoustic and electric guitars, violin, banjo, accordion, harmonica, steel guitar, sax and a variety of percussion, along with tape loops and other kinds of sonic experimentation to flesh out an impressive batch of memorable songs. 10/22/2009 -Don Yates

Neon Indian is the latest project from Austin’s Alan Palomo, former frontman for Ghosthustler and also the guy behind the electronic project VEGA. Palomo follows up his Neon Indian EP from earlier this year (also titled Psychic Chasms) with this charming full-length of trippy, bedroom electro-pop that filters icy ‘80s keyboards, tinny electric guitars, retro drum machines, video game effects, occasional samples and soft vocals through hazy, warped production. 10/20/2009 -Don Yates