Pulsing with subtle brilliance, Caribbean rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent songcraft, this is The Mars Volta at their most mature, most concise, most focused. Their sound and fury channelled to greatest effect, the album finds Rodríguez-López's subterranean pop melodies driving Bixler-Zavala's dark sci-fi tales of the occult and malevolent governments. Distilling all the passion, poetry and power at their fingertips, this is the most...

Fifteen years after the release of their debut album, Daptone's Royal Court from Staten Island delivers a truly epic collection of new material that finds the group further bridging the gap between the farfisa-fueled Ethio-Funk stylings of their early recordings, with the psychedelic, Sabbath-inspired hellfire of late. The title track and lead single jumps out of the speakers with a heavy drum break, drenched in a pulsating, hallucinatory wall of...

The band's only album to have been recorded entirely with Jimmy Page as a member is also a transitional effort that finds the Yardbirds delving into an array of sounds and styles, from gritty blues-rock to swirling psychedelia to introspective balladry. Several tracks can now be seen as sonic blueprints for Led Zeppelin, which feature the distinctive guitar-bowing technique for which Page would become famous.

Recorded between 1966 and 1967, Smile was intended to be a pop rock masterpiece as well as the follow up to the Beach Boys' acclaimed Pet Sounds album. But the master tapes were shelved, and the album was never released. Now this piece of rock history comes to life with a two-disc set that provides an in-depth overview of the recording sessions and the album itself.