This week’s best albums
– After a four-year hiatus, Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails returns and proves that it’s not living in the past.
– Chelsea Wolfe presents her third full-length, an album with a breathtaking range of sounds and sonic theatrics.
– Extreme-metal outfit Gorguts returns from a protracted layoff with a pair of new members from Dysrhythmia.
– With her first album since 2009, Neko Case offers more sophisticated songwriting with a glut of guest contributors.
– Volcano Choir — comprised of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and friends from Collections of Colonies of Bees — releases a sophomore effort that’s more in touch with traditional songwriting conventions.
– Midwestern hardcore band Modern Life Is War comes back from a half-decade break with strengthened songwriting chops.
– King Khan & The Shrines return with the usual hijinks — and a killer horn section.
Honorable mentions
Califone: Stitches (Dead Oceans)
Helms Alee / Ladder Devils split EP (Brutal Panda)
Jackson and His Computerband: Glow (Warp)
Jenks Miller: Spirit Signal (Northern Spy)
North Mississippi Allstars: World Boogie Is Coming (Songs of the South)
Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium (ATO)
Mark Pritchard: Lock Off EP (Warp)
Watain: The Wild Hunt (Century Media)