There is a common sentiment that “no good music gets released in December.”  The reasoning behind this comment is that  December is a poor time to release an album because year-end charts have gone to press and the next year has not yet begun. Many December releases become orphans, begging for porridge. Sadly, a few will remain unfed.

Thankfully, this year was different. While the end of the year rush did see a decrease in the number of releases from major independent labels, the smaller presses took advantage of the lull and received  some well-deserved attention. From Europe to Japan, artists were hoping to steal some of the limelight before the decade drew to a close.

Poland’s best post-rock band has been snakebitten this year. After all the difficulties New Century Classics had getting this album released (see our review for details), its label offered the disc for free, and all 1000 copies were distributed in Poland, leaving none for out-of-country fans. Now the band is begging their fans to ask the label to make more copies, so that they don’t have to spend their own money buying back the rights to their own album! So to pluck some song titles from Natural Process, “Congratulate you, where?” Right now, only in Poland. Because of “A Small Misunderstanding,” the members of NCC are now “Children of an Uncertain Future,” wondering where the “Fish Went,” and asking us to show them some “Sandbox Love” by sending “Post-Cards” to FDM. In the meantime, download this late-year beauty and wish NCC powodzenie (good luck). (Richard Allen)

To the internet know-it-alls and to anyone blindly proclaiming that all post-rock bands sound the same: Pg.lost have come to shut you up. Few albums in the past year have garnered as much appreciation in such a short span of time, and for good reason. Pg.lost effortlessly encodes its deepest sentiments into beautiful, relatable soundscapes, while remaining as organic and honest as possible. In Never Out unspools as if it were the band’s collective stream of consciousness. Everything here has a purpose: every note, harmony and drum stroke is perfectly placed, without the slightest hint of pretension, earning this album its ranking among the year’s best. (Mohammed Ashraf)

For Long Tomorrow is one of the most sophisticated releases of the year, replenishing a near-depleted reserve of new, feel-good instrumental rock. After three years of silence from Toe, it’s as refreshing as it is rewarding to hear this explosion of creativity, highlighted by plentiful, clever guitar lines, impeccable drumming, and the slightest dose of Japanese vocals. This time around, Toe delivers more jazz-influenced rock, evident from the meticulously placed keyboards as well as the saxophone surprise in “Our Next Movement.” The album is highly accessible and packed with energetic bliss, making it a breakthrough in the band’s modest discography. While its release date may have pushed it to the wayside, this album is well worth celebrating. (Brett Hayes)