The band fares best on songs like "Narcissist," which, like the Vines' grunge love letters, are pretty fun even if they aren't shockingly original.

The album is split down the middle with the first half made up of shimmering, supercharged dance tracks that have disco and house influences and seem destined to fire up clubgoers with their soaring choruses.... [The final four] songs aren't as successful, thanks to the somewhat syrupy melodies and clichéd lyrics, but also because Cher's vocals sound a little worn and frayed around the edges.

Along with being the most accessible and traditional of Stoltz's albums, Double Exposure turns out to be one of the best.

Jarosz lets her considerable instrumental prowess submit itself to serving the needs of her songs instead of merely adorning them with a precocious imagination. She can do this because she possesses not only self confidence in her material, but in her discernment, which is rare for a musician so young.

It's the type of album that will be most apt to impress aspiring producers, but also hip enough that it could serve as a backing soundtrack for a dinner party too.

Even if More Is Than Isn't doesn't flow as well as his previous efforts, this everything-and-the-kitchen-sink experience is dazzling, always leaving the listener wondering what might come next.

Lanterns on the Lake allow themselves to build on and expand the sound of their debut for Until the Colours Run, bursting open at times with purpose, while drawing on the cinematic sounds and folk storytelling that bind together a magnificent collection of tracks.

For fans, the first disc has plenty of exciting material to offer: it sounds great, the writing is excellent, there are new musical directions, and, as expected, there is terrific playing throughout.

[A] likeable, meandering, bedroom parlor-pop outing.

Musically, Adult Film is a smorgasbord of pop ephemera, with melodies crashing about like boozy butterflies, occasionally landing on an idea and then leaping back into the blue in search of less restrictive stimuli.

Less of a preview of things to come than a few extra songs, Tally All the Things That You Broke still offers enjoyable evidence of what makes Parquet Courts unique and exciting.

By slowing things down a bit, they're able to let the knack for melody do a lot of the heavy lifting, giving the songs an airiness that's unlike any other electronic band out there. This makes The Speed of Things not only an excellent follow-up to their already stellar debut, but an album that you'd almost have to try not to like.

Swapping out the sonic and mental clutter for a host of centered, unconfused rock tunes is a curveball move, for sure, but the end product is the most memorable, lasting, and relatable albums in Of Montreal's extensive catalog, and easily one of the best.

Fortress is a driving album that not only doesn't feel tired or stale, but is a monster of an album that makes a pretty solid case for being some of Alter Bridge's strongest and most dynamic work to date.

A self-titled EP in 2011 yielded three lengthy songs of the duo's wild combination of airy atmospheres and menacing fuzz, but debut full-length Psychic moves into more compositional territory, though it remains drifty and narcotic in ways similar to its predecessor.

The times have changed enough in the music world that Drone Logic won't get the same recognition and acclaim that albums by Underworld or the Chemical Brothers (or even Plastikman or Orbital) received 20 years previously, but it's every bit as good and expansively musical as anything from that era.

It's Lee's talents as an insightful songwriter and soulful vocalist that beg your attention on Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song.

My Name Is My Name is a remarkable and vital solo debut.

The way Mesirow balances all of Interiors' concepts and sounds into songs this streamlined and appealing makes it even more akin to a marvel of modern architecture; it feels intuitive and effortless, even if it most likely wasn't to create it.

Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! paints an exciting picture of Panic! At the Disco's genre-bending career trajectory to come.

Sleigh Bells' studies in contrasts aren't shocking anymore, but the fact that they sound more natural on Bitter Rivals makes this some of their most enjoyable music since Treats.

Calvi's less adventurous fans may find themselves at a loss as to how to process it all, but there's something both immaculate and broken about One Breath that ultimately transcends its more difficult moments.

While Old often seems like a hip-hop kaleidoscope exploding across the speakers, it's also crafted and paced, split down the middle like a great LP with a sure start and a freeing finish.

Bangerz's take on R&B is most convincing when it's balanced with Cyrus' country and pop roots.

Although this box is not perfect--it's hard not to wish there were no duplications on the first two discs, or the last two--it is nevertheless a mighty testament to the Band at the peak of their powers.

Song for song, The Blow is arguably a more consistent set of songs than Paper Television was, but its aloof wit ultimately makes for slightly smaller pleasures than what came before it.

Lyrically and melodically it plumbs the depths of emotion, making it among the most compelling entries in Jesu's catalog.

As appealing as the lived-in, swampy jams are, there's a laziness that drifts throughout Hoodoo, apparent in the sauntering rhythms and Tony Joe's mush-mouthed vocals.