A lo-fi goth EP dipped into the synth-coated melodrama of the 1980s, Stridulum reaches for the depth of human emotion, and often gets there. However, while intensely personal and beautifully constructed, it often teeters on the edge of excess, as Zola Jesus (née Nika Roza Danilova) allows her larger-than-life ambitions to translate into a singularly oppressive tone.

Over the past ten years and four releases, Goldfrapp has set the electro-pop bar high, gliding between dreamy soundscapes (Felt Mountain, Seventh Tree) and dance (Black Cherry, Supernature). Now on their fifth album Head First, the duo takes on Italo disco, going by the numbers to create uncharacteristically mixed results.

If 2008’s A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night played up the neurotic streak singer Josephine Olausson established on debut Nine Times That Same Song, the Gothenburg, Sweden quintet’s third offering zags back toward the sunny and soaring end of the pop spectrum.

The thing about Sigur Rós: It sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before. The thing about Sigur Rós bandleader Jónsi’s solo album: It sounds like Sigur Rós… only stronger.

jj jumped onto everyone’s radar last year with nº 2, yet somehow they remain elusive. What we do know: Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander craft dreamy pop tunes with heavy doses of Balearic house music, cavernous reverb, and the great melodic sense that seems intrinsic to Swedes.

The Besnard Lakes take their grandiose cues from the ‘70s: massive sounds, massive ideas, double albums, and seven-minute opuses. Their harmonies are rooted in the Brian Wilson and Sgt. Pepper era. The vocal treatment, all reverb and wide-open space, is clearly set in the here and now.

Sometimes following the career of Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) is kind of like watching Winona Ryder’s dating life: it’s fascinating to see who will turn up next, but at the same time, there’s always the lingering desire to see him pick one and stick with it.

For a time I was convinced Spencer Krug did not sleep, instead spending his nights tapping away at a Casio keyboard, penning his next great indie rock fantasy. In addition to his role as Sunset Rubdown’s frontman, the Canadian avant-rocker balances responsibilities in Wolf Parade and Swan Lake, as well as a burgeoning solo project deemed Moonface. With the release of Moonface’s Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums, there’s musical proof that Krug does, in fact, find the time for shut-eye—and that he dreams quite a bit while doing so.

Supergrass’ Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey have impeccable taste. While on a break from their main band, Coombes and Goffey decided to team up with famed producer Nigel Godrich for this album of 12 cover songs. Among others, they tackle David Bowie (“Queen Bitch”), The Kinks (“Big Sky”), Roxy Music (“Love Is the Drug”), Sex Pistols (“E.M.I.”), and Gang of Four (“Damaged Goods”).