Avey Tare, Down There (Carpark) Two years ago, Avey Tare, one-third of experimental band of outsiders Animal Collective, decided to pursue his own sound. The result is a multi-dimensional solo album that pulls listeners, note by note, deep into a neo-psychedelic netherworld. Just like the crocodiles that inspired the album, Down There uses stealth and subversion to prey upon our eardrums. Tare’s effervescent, haunting melodies plunge into a distorted world of sound, making this the perfect accompaniment for a sunset picnic or the apocalypse. Whereas tracks like “Laughing Hieroglyphic” are languorous, lazy affairs, “Oliver Twist” bubbles over with dancefloor-friendly electropop. —Hillary Weston

Maserati, Pyramid of the Sun (Temporary Residence Limited) Remember that scene in The Breakfast Club where Judd Nelson triumphantly fist-pumps the sky with his fingerless-gloved hand? The new Maserati songs sound the way that looked. Distorted, soaring outsider anthems populate the Georgia-based rockers’ latest album, a combination of car-commercial–friendly, open-air wistfulness and percussive rage. The instrumentation here is, in fact, so expressive that one forgets the album has no lyrics. One of Jerry Fuchs’ last recordings before his tragic death a year ago this month, Pyramid of the Sun is an elegiac and powerful tribute to the late, great drummer. It ends, appropriately, with “Bye M’Friend, Goodbye.” —Nick Haramis

Bryan Ferry, Olympia (Astralwerks) Bryan Ferry’s long, prolific career is surprising only because his early success with Roxy Music came during the coke-fueled ’70s, a decade that saw the art-rock pioneer rack up six consecutive gold records. His musical touch, still vital, can be found throughout Olympia, Ferry’s new solo album, a romantic and spirited effort that combines his signature stage-whisper vocals with an eclectic assortment of collaborators. While lead single “You Can Dance” is a polished yet antiseptic stab at dancefloor filler, subsequent tracks are full, textured, and satisfying. “Me Oh My”—featuring Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour on guitars and former bandmate Brian Eno on synth—brings out Ferry’s mastery of drama, emotion, and restraint. “Song to the Siren,” meanwhile, has Roxy vet Phil Manzanera and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood bringing Ferry back to his “Avalon” heyday while marching triumphantly into the musical future. The master has returned, humbler, wiser, and more listenable than ever. —Victor Ozols

The Suzan, Golden Week for the Poco Poco Beat (Fool’s Gold/Downtown) The Suzan, an all-girl punk-pop foursome, is Japan’s cutest export since that waving white kitten with the red collar. Their debut album, Golden Week for the Poco Poco Beat (See? Cute!), is at once funky, inscrutable, and undeniable. Tracks like “Home,” the Suzan’s xylophone-heavy first single, and “Devils” (Swedish superstar Lykke Li lends her vocals) are sure to become indie classics, while the instrumental “Secret” and alt-rock slow jam “Into the Light” prove that the Suzan transcends frothy pop-rock. —Daniela Dello Joio

The Concretes, WYWH (Friendly Fire) Like all good things emerging from Scandinavia’s creative groundswell, the Concretes’ fourth album was conceived on a freezing winter day over drinks. It had been three years since the group, which first earned commercial success with the gushing pop ditty “You Can’t Hurry Love,” had produced a new note, and the road back to the studio, it turned out, was to be paved with disco. Now an eight-person collective with former drummer Lisa Milberg owning the microphone (Victoria Bergsman left to pursue solo projects), WYWH slides between tracks with ’70s slinky keyboards and sloughing vocals. Songs like “Crack in the Paint” recall turquoise eye shadow and Barry Manilow. There’s even a well-placed sax honk. A certain four-lettered Swedish band will not be named. —Megan Conway

The 1900s, Return of the Century (Parasol) It’s been three years since the release of the 1900s’ Cold & Kind, and although they look a bit different—two founding members dropped out of the band—their sound is as varied as ever. Return of the Century is a departure from their baroque orchestral days, leaping forward with strong vocal arrangements and narrative focus. Woozy with guitars, the album tells lively but harrowing stories of desert adventures and cult compounds, the sound teetering between ragged and pristine: the album was recorded in top-notch studios, but also at home. Return of the Century is an oddball odyssey of the rarest kind. —HW