Stephen Wilkinson appears to be mirroring Western trends by going organic. On his seventh LP under the Bibio guise, the English producer’s experimental leanings take on a distinctly naturalistic focus, veering away from the kaleidoscopic blur of 2011’s Mind Bokeh to create a slow-burning sonic collection.

After an afternoon spent wandering around and sampling several outdoor events (including a youth jazz band so talented it made me weep for my pre-teen ambitions of becoming the next Benny Goodman), I kicked off my Festival International de Jazz de Montréal slate of evening concerts with a Canadian and Canadian(ish) act: CFCF and Rhye.

If you were among the million-plus individuals who (legally) purchased Empire of the Sun’s debut album, Walking On a Dream, you will not be disappointed with its follow-up, Ice On the Dune. The second lovechild of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore shares its predecessor’s compelling cinematic, sci-fi/fantasy personality both aurally and visually.

Ben Folds Five continues to celebrate the end of its 13-year hiatus with the release of this compilation of live cuts from the 2012 tour. The record showcases the band’s magnetic precision, which, as pristine as it is, can never translate completely from the stage to a pair of iPod earbuds.

In this memoir, Jo Wood, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, documents her life, most of which is spent side-by-side with the Rolling Stones guitarist.

Season 8 is set to be the last for Showtime’s Dexter. Probably a good thing, too. Dexter has had some tremendous peaks during its run—the gripping first season, John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer, and the gut-punching Season 4 finale, to name a few—but it’s also spent a little too much time slogging around in a mess of uninspired plots and redundant conflicts.

Heck is Zander Cannon’s story of a man with a portal to Hell itself in his house. Hector Hammarskjöld (aka “Heck”) uses this portal as a business, with the idea of venturing into the underworld to retrieve or deliver messages to lost loves or other absent souls.

Seattle septet Rose Windows is a throwback in the most exciting way. It’s not exactly prog, but with guitar, bass, drums, piano, organ, and flute, the songs on the band’s debut echo groups like King Crimson, Jethro Tull, and Peter Gabriel-era Genesis in the most successful and invigorating way.

At the end of a really long day, sometimes we settle for a Big Mac at the drive-thru. And most of us have, at some point, dated a dud because it takes a lot of work to find a winner. We’re only human. But why settle for vapid party songs when they’re not even catchy enough to make a single toe tap?