My expectations for Hesitation Marks were really high, and I’m actually very pleased. This is a Reznor who isn’t so filled with rage and self-loathing, and his music sounds more mature — but he hasn’t lost his sense of artistry.

Find My Way is as introspective as his best tracks were, and Copy of A has the same intensity as some of the best tracks off Slip or With Teeth. Come Back Haunted is dangerously sharp and dramatic, and will be sure to please old-time fans. All Time Low has that same old groove and bounce he’s familiar for, but is a good example of a track that isn’t as dark as it would have been in years gone by. I Would For You is fantastic, but it’s quickly toppled by In Two. While I’m Still Here is beyond impressive, playing with elements I never would have thought Reznor would have tried.

The album isn’t perfect, and some tracks are clearly flawed and lack the bite that vintage Nine Inch Nails carried. Reznor isn’t as angry as he used to be (and if he was, the record wouldn’t sound authentic at all). This isn’t the best Nine Inch Nails record, but who cares? We should just be glad he’s back.

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Horsemouth is the perfect opener that lets you know exactly what to expect. Don’t like Horsemouth? Skip to the next album on today’s list. I Don’t Mind keeps moving with the same sort of flow, but it’s a little more fun. Pick any track from the album, though — Here She Comes, Teenage Jesus, Orb, it doesn’t matter. Every one of these songs is very clearly from the same band and off the same record. It’s consistent.

The songs don’t quite suffer from sounding the same, but if you’re just listening to a few tracks while folding the laundry, they could blend together. I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing or if it just means Ghost Wave knows exactly what they’re good at, but I’m willing to go with the latter. Ghost Wave know exactly what they’re doing, and Ages is a phenomenal record for it.

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That being said, the album really picks up with Confidence, which is a beautiful track and one of the record’s more high-energy songs. Really, if Confidence was the opening track, the entire thing would be fantastic from the get-go.

If any album ever defined the term “slow burner,” Carrier is it. But it’s worth it. The end of the album is stronger than the beginning. Dodos’ strength, at least from where I sit, lies in the way they layer their instruments. Relief is a great example, with quickly-plucked arpeggios and vocals working together to create a fantastic whole. Not unlike its oddly weak opening track, I think The Ocean is a weak ending — not a bad song, but just an inappropriately placed track. But Destroyer and Death would make tremendous closing counterparts.

In some ways, Destroyer is the most high-energy track on the record, and Death is certainly the most somber (it could probably make the boys in The National weep). Side by side, the tracks are powerful, but ending the album with a one-two punch like that would have been truly ballsy.

The odd pacing indicates that The Dodos aren’t too interested in predictability, and they’d rather put the power of the album in their performance and emotional capacities. In that sense, Carrier is a tremendous success. It’s unusual for a record from Dodos, but it’s tremendously surprising and moving.

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When I was listening to the record, it gained thousands of plays on Rdio in a matter of three days. By the time you read this, I wonder how many plays it will have had. The album kicks off with Artificial Light, which certainly isn’t a bad introduction, but you’ll want to skip ahead to Young Fathers if you want to see the bravado these guys are really capable of. Unlike Modest Mouse, Typhoon can really break out the acoustics and work some magic there too. Listen to The Lake. My favourite comment about the song was “It’s good. It’s really good.” Yes. Yes, it is. Dreams of Cannibalism, the lead single, is simply fantastic, both ska and folk-influenced. Hunger and Thirst is just ridiculously good. Common Sentiments makes me want to jump around dance with a broom, but it also captivates me. And Post Script is six minutes of beautiful sadness.

White Lighter is going to go down as one of the best records of 2013. This 11-member band is going to be alternative indie’s new darling, right up there with last year’s big hits, The Lumineers. With their complicated musicianship and intricate arrangements, their live performances often require more than a dozen musicians — and that level of detail isn’t very different from Arcade Fire or Frightened Rabbit. White Lighter makes Typhoon a trail-blazer, and I’m excited about where they’ll go next.

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Cayucos, the opening track, gives you a great idea of what to expect. Put down whatever you’re doing, grab a beach towel and prepare a mojito. It’s time to sunbathe. High School Lover carries on with the same sort of stupidly catchy beach pop that cheers you up without insulting your intelligence. A Summer Thing hits it right on the nose with a 400-pound hammer, but that’s kind of the point — subtlety isn’t Cayucas’ strong suit.

The comparisons I keep seeing are Beck on anti-depressants and Vampire Weekend. In reality, it’s kind of like Vampire Weekend got really drunk with Beck on a Saturday afternoon and performed an impromptu live show somewhere on the ocean shore. On another level, the album’s going to amuse potheads the same way that Tenacious D causes a sense of the giggles. I don’t smoke it, but if I did, the title track would probably blow my mind. As it is now, it’s just like the rest of the album: Disgustingly catchy, brilliantly fun and irresistible.

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