Michael D. Ayers

In 2007, Dallas native Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, released Marry Me — a cute, promising debut that highlighted her sometimes dark, sometimes deep, optimistic voice and a knack for some slight guitar shredding. Actor is something altogether different — a meditation on orchestrated, grandiose-sounding pop that doesn't sound overstuffed...

It's still quite shocking that Grizzly Bear's debut, Yellow House, caused the commotion it did. The Brooklyn four-piece was clearly adept at exploring harmonies that intermingled within fairly odd, acoustic-backed arrangements — but instead of words, often they cooed their way through much of the record. In that sense, Veckatimest...

Smarty-pants Colin Meloy has yet once again topped his prior output, this time bringing his Portland group Decemberists to bear on a 17-song concept album. People will no doubt label this a "rock opera," but Meloy is actually drawing more from the traditional folk world than anything. His words and...

Following his recent success with Zooey Deschanel partnership She & Him, M. Ward continues his path down the AM Gold aesthetic with Hold Time, his sixth proper record. A hallmark of Ward's sound is a very timeless feel that, productionwise, could be from the early to mid-1900s, and arrangementwise, he...