It's not unfair to say Strange Wilds are a bit derivative, but they also do right by their influences, and they unleash a cranked-up onslaught that's tight and ferocious, with a judicious use of dynamics and an effective application of the traditional cheap Fender guitar run through the right effects boxes.

Bahdeni Nami's greatest appeal will be to newer fans who may prefer more contemporary production to the gritty lo-fi dabke aesthetic. That said, despite various flourishes, these producers try hard to remain true to Souleyman's spirit and, with only one exception, succeed in spades.

Sirens is a step up from their debut.

A streamlined ten-song effort that, at the outset, feels like a very meat-and-potatoes, suburban pop-punk affair. But simple suburban pop-punk is Spraynard's bailiwick and their unpretentiousness is part of their charm.

Overall, Marks to Prove It feels a bit anxious, but that's not necessarily to its detriment, and four LPs in, the Maccabees are still making smart and sophisticated Brit guitar rock.

The relaxed, hypnotic nature of the piece [Post Encounter Effect] is a little surprising coming after the ecstatic first side, but it's calming and welcome nonetheless.

It's an invigorating, infectious set that reaffirms Turner's faith in music's power to motivate and heal.

More than any other Jill Scott album--each one is either nearly or well over an hour in length--its impact would likely deepen with some trimming and resequencing. Nonetheless, there's enough high-quality content to sustain Scott's status as one of the most unique and powerful voices in R&B.

Death Magic presents a 2010s version of HEALTH that fits in with the likes of the Soft Moon and Blanck Mass while delivering their most accessible music to date.

Weirdo Shrine shows La Luz are more than living up to the promise of their early work, and that they're still one of the most interesting and entertaining acts on the Pacific Northwest scene in 2015.

On Thank You for Stickin' with Twig, Slim Twig takes full advantage of his limited recording resources (the liner notes state that the album is mostly home-recorded) in order to create his most original-sounding work to date.

Nine albums in and the band is finally flirting with accessibility, but in true Fear Factory fashion, they're doing it on their own terms and at a very deliberate pace.

Ashes & Dust is a worthy and welcome addition to Haynes' catalog.

One of the most joyously deafening albums of 2015.

While the EP is a little more straightforward than Do It Again, it's a fun, spontaneous portrait of a moment made all the more poignant due to Falk's death from pancreatic cancer in 2014.

Jessie Jones is clearly not for everybody, but if you love classic pop and rock created by a gifted eccentric with a vision (and the talent to make it real), this debut is well worth your time and attention.

The band's detractors will probably complain that the template remains firmly in place, and the band is aimlessly trekking through well-trodden terrain, but by returning to their roots, Bullet for My Valentine seem to have reignited the spark that made their early work so vital.

Everybody's Coming Down is ultimately engaging if meandering, and at its heart--whatever the style--is memorable, energized songwriting.

The Spirit Moves sounds like a sure-footed step in the right direction.

Imaginary Man presents Baxter and his material in a manner that's vividly passionate and a little swampy while avoiding cliches as he offers these sketches on life and love in the American South; it's a big step forward for Baxter, and will hopefully help him gain the audience he deserves.

It's the songs rather than the production that will keep repeat listeners coming back, even if they don't notice at first, or 20th, or 50th, and the marriage of the two works so well that folks are likely not to care why.

Dave Cloud was a unique talent whose work was not for all tastes, but there's a mad joy and untethered emotional freedom in Today Is the Day That They Take Me Away that would be the envy of nearly any artist, and on that score, this album puts much of Nashville's better-known product to shame.

There are a couple moments where the album gets overly somber, and the saxophone solo on "Kelly" should have been left on the cutting-room floor, but for the most part Sky City is a promising, quietly satisfying debut.

Even if it lives up to the bewilderment in its title now and then, Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied is the kind of playful, unpredictable set a band can make once it reaches its fourth album.

Drawing on the classic amped-up sound of '90s acts like Sum 41 and New Found Glory, Neck Deep are at the vanguard of the pop-punk revival.

Neither Presley nor Le Bon should give up their main gigs for DRINKS, but if they got together now and then to record an album with as much good-natured charm and tricky bits as this, that'd be just fine.

If Lemmy croaks or wheezes more often on Bad Magic than he has before, it suits his tales of foul-minded bastards and their despicable deeds, and it's a fine fit with the bloody-minded attitude that has always been Motörhead's stock in trade.

She hasn't yet released one that's consistently exciting and satisfying from beginning to end, though there's more than enough here to make this worth a listen and to suggest that Deradoorian could have more interesting things up her sleeve for her next solo effort.