Imagine Dragons “Smoke + Mirrors” Interscope Part of what made Imagine Dragons’ first album so much fun was its ability to be everybody and nobody all at once. You could hear smatterings of Killers, Arcade Fire, Dragonette, even Coldplay in their songs, but only the best bits of all those

Angle “Definitive Bedtime Stories” Independent   Des Moines does not have a great hip-hop scene. It is not for a lack of trying, it is just difficult to grow a scene organically with no major label backing and no breakthrough commercial talent, ala Slipknot or The Envy Corps. There is,

Mint “Murder” (EP) Independent This winter, after its annual hibernation period, Mint returns to the local music forefront with a new EP. Consisting of three new songs and an extended version of the title track, “Murder” serves as a small reminder of everything about the band that excites and frustrates

Bob Dylan “Shadows in the Night” Columbia   Bob Dylan must be getting bored with just being a legend. Seemingly bereft of any good, new ideas, Dylan has chosen to package together a series of Frank Sinatra covers for his latest album. Consisting mostly of deeper cuts from Ol’ Blue

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz” Heavenly/Castle Face/ Flightless   There is a lot about this band to feel dubious about. With a name like that and a lineup that consists of two drummers, three guitarists and a dedicated harmonica player, it can be easy

Meghan Trainor “Title” Epic Meghan Trainor’s 2014 single, “All About That Bass,” is this generation’s “Mambo No 5.” It is catchy, it has a good hook and was everywhere for a while. And in two years, people will wonder why they listened to it at all. If “Title” has a

Sleater-Kinney “No Cities to Love” Sub Pop The fact that we are now living in 2015 and there are still people in the world who don’t know about Sleater-Kinney makes me sad. Now, after a nearly eight-year break, the Olympia, Washington, trio is back from a new location (they live

Charli XCX “Sucker” Asylum Records The odds are that if you know of Charli XCX, it is for her credits on Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” You can decide whether or not that is the kind of thing that will get you interested in hearing more

Peace Love & Stuff “Too Lonesome to Cry” Independent   Much like with the Love Songs for Lonely Monsters album last year, there has been a lot of built-up anticipation over Peace Love & Stuff’s debut full-length. Well, the wait is over, and the result is glorious. Lead singer Lavonne

  Unknown Component “Arbitrary Ambiguity” Independent   Unknown Component is entirely the work of Ames-based Keith Lynch. At the end of the day, I don’t know if the things Lynch has to say as Unknown Component are vital or important, but the ways in which he says them are often