Days Go By is more for fans who have been with the band for a while than those just tuning in, and while die-hard Offspring followers will be able to see the shift in the band's sound as part of a logical progression, new listeners would be better served by checking out some of their earlier, more urgent work.

For all their various impulses, it's clear on Valley Tangents that they do have a certain general approach to explore, just one that doesn't welcome immediate simplification.

The majority of tracks follow the tried and true template of atmospheric intro/staccato breakdown/huge power chorus/repeat, but the balance between sheen and filth is handled with aplomb.

Musostics is a more satisfying album that proves Junior Electronics can now do even more with less.

Most of the time, Jackson's new arrangements of Ellington's compositions don't serve the songs so much as they betray the arrogance of a musician who wants to show us how he can bring this music into the present day while ignoring many of the qualities that made it timeless.

Two Wounded Birds is a well-crafted and powerful debut from a band that arrived in full control of both its sound and its songs.

It's not so much that Throw It to the Universe is a bad album; but it is quite inconsistent when compared to their best work.

The stunning cover is the most beautiful and cohesive on what is an otherwise (understandably) uneven collection which, while definitely appealing to hardcore fans, might be a bit too out there for casual listeners.

Write Me Back proves that Kelly's mode throughout Love Letter was no fluke.

Overexposed may not hold together as well as that album [Hands All Over ], but it's sure to keep the audience won over by The X Factor.

It's ultimately a fitting platform for his brokenhearted reflections.

Oshin is a pleasant listen, especially for anyone partial to Beach Fossils or the Captured Tracks sound in general.

This is an album that's impossible to play quietly, and if this music is an assault, by the time Segall is midway through "Fuzz War," don't be surprised if you're signing on for this particular fight club.

It doesn't stay still, it peaks and ebbs, flowing steadily between brooding and explosions of repressed rage, a fitting soundtrack for aging rap-rockers who are comfortable in their skin but restless at heart.

The Tarnished Gold will melt whatever preconceptions you have about the band and leave you basking in the warmth of the summer of Beachwood Sparks' career.

An album that's just as vital as it is accomplished.

Overall, it's a pretty somber affair, conjuring up images of humid, ashtray-filled midnights spent gazing out of a tenth story window, contemplating whether or not the fall would kill or just cripple you.

Everything else is instrumental, and suited equally well to either careful listening or playing in the background when some of your hipper friends come over for dinner.

A certain kind of playfulness reigns throughout much of the album.

Ask the Dust is one of the more interesting and compelling electro albums of 2012.

Spirits has the advantage of sounding like an enjoyable guitar-based drone-and-zone effort in its own right regardless of everything else Mahood has already done, not least of which is due to a certain bright tone throughout the album.

Wild Peace is a largely subdued affair, but there's so much happening just below the surface of the music that it's easy to miss some of the album's buried brilliance while you're distracted by its glimmering melodies.

A more aggressive, contemporary guitar attack aside, stunning power punk masterpieces like "The Act We Act," "The Slim," and "Fortune Teller" bear all of the vintage Mould musical traits.

while the album may be about the band's View from the Bottom (whether that be career woes, the loss of a friend, or the bottom of a shot glass), as the title of the rousing set closer implies, Lit definitely got it "Right This Time."

Taylor gets deeper into his musical roots than he has on previous releases, creating a powerful set of songs that sound as if they could have been recorded in 1974.

Into the Night delivers four of the duo's brightest, poppiest tunes yet.

The Legendary Demos is a fantastic example of a collection of unreleased material that really works rather than some lackluster hodgepodge of archived filler.

A (largely instrumental) record that's considerably more sophisticated, atmospheric, and arty than some of his professed inspirations.