It's not quite as engaging as Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, but in a pinch it will do.

It's certainly pretty, and definitely has its moments, but it simply lacks the vitality of past work.

Like her debut, Kala is somewhat inconsistent, for slightly different reasons. While there isn't the distraction of short tracks and skits to break the flow, some of the songs essentially do the same thing by shooting high and missing the mark.

I'll give them some credit for trying some new things, I only wish they would have taken things a step further.

The main problem haunting Denies The Day's Demise is the same one that holds back several past releases from Daedelus. While the release is cohesive and fairly entertaining, it could have used a bit more editing in terms of overall running length.

When they keep things a little more subtle, Silent Shout is outstanding, but in other places it's just sorta there.

There's a lot of great moments here, but is the least consistent album from the group in awhile.

It seems like in the process of tightening up their sound, the group also left out some of the more over-the-top qualities that inhabited their past releases. Keep Your Eyes Ahead sounds a lot more warm, but at the same time is more safe as well.

While the hooks are certainly great in places, it jumps from place to place so quickly that there's never anything for the ear and brain to go back to.

It doesn't travel any really adventurous ground, but it's a solid little entry for hot weather.

The release has a great sense of humor, and the entire thing is scattered with those weird little samples that he's so good at finding, but if you're looking for much more than that, you may find yourself disappointed.

All in all, the release probably would have worked better as an extended EP instead of nearly an hourlength rumination on one track and ideas that spawned from it.

Sure, he's great at using a 909, but he's already progressed past the music he's made with Closer, and much of the time it feels like falling back on old habit for lack of new ideas.

The album just doesn't have the innovation that previous albums from Hebden have shown.

In the end, it's not going to change the world, but it shows that the group is definitely expanding (in a good way) their sound from their early days.

Taking things up a small notch in terms of recording quality (medium-fi would probably be apt, as it's still a long shot from glossy), this is certainly a more cohesive release than their debut, with some absolutely killer songs mixed in with some rather middling ones.

In the end, Varcharz feels like an in-betweener album, where the duo hasn't quite figured out which direction they want to move in next.

The slight cracks that shone on Tallahassee are more visible, and unless you're a newbie to Mountain Goats lore, there probably won't be a whole lot new for you here.

There's still not really anyone out there creating music quite like this, but unfortunately The Blood Brothers have made better albums than this.

It's mostly inventive and catchy as hell.... That is, to say, if you don't mind the nearly ever-present vocals of Lafata.

While there are some excellent moments on La Incredible Aventura, it feels more like a transitional album than a fullfilled vision.

With ten songs running under forty minutes, the haphazard track order (with production quality going from super lo-fi to pristine) and dour feel ultimately make for a rather challenging listen.

In the end, there's a fair amount more musical variety on Fordlandia, but at the same time it doesn't hold quite the emotional resonance that past releases from Johannsson have had, largely because the music on the release feels much more obvious.

A letdown from the full-on intensity and imagination of their previous release.

There are moments where the two seem to sync up nicely and really unveil something beautiful and unique, but there are far too many other passages where the pairing doesn't quite seem to fully jel.

Dip is sort of an awkward sidestep in a new direction for Moffat, but it's still rewarding in places if you have the patience.

In the grand scheme of Orb albums, it lands as slightly better than their last effort Cydonia, but not nearly as good as classics like Orbus Terrarum.

Like the title suggests, this album is grand in many ways, but the sheen also wears off somewhat quickly at the same time.

Considering at least part of the groups charm was their ability to surprise, there's simply not enough of that here as a whole, and In Arm's Way suffers because of it.

While it makes a lot of musical leaps (it's probably the most "experimental" work he's done), not all of them work, but there are still some great moments for fans of his work here.

It's not always hitting the mark, but over the course of eleven tracks and just under forty minutes, XX Teens certainly show they have some chops to keep an eye on.

If you can't get enough of Bejar, you'll obviously want to check this out, but most others will feel like they've been down this road before.

Their production is still top-notch, and as mentioned above the album still has some great sounds and moments, but it's not quite up to the level that they've done in the past.

While it doesn't work stunningly as a whole, there are places where the group comes together to create dark and blistering rock tracks that stand with the best work they've ever done.

While they have incorporated new sounds into their palette, the sonic experiments don't quite work all the time and the album suffers a bit in places because of that.

Human Animal certainly isn't something I'd want to pull out on a regular basis, but there's some beautiful evil I can appreciate on this one.

Despite her pushing slightly forward with her unique sound on this newest release, Son just doesn't engage me as much as I thought it would.

While there's nothing wrong with any of the disc, it just feels like tracks such as "Dahlem," "Basic," and "Cosimo" have already been done by the group before.

If you're a fan of the group through thick and thin, there will definitely be enough to love here. If you want to know the best place to start with Trans Am, that place is still Futureworld.

Free jazz fiends and fans of the first volume will find plenty to love here.

A weird little debut, this one has some promising moments.

The album is rather hit or miss. There are a handful of standout tracks, another handful of ones that are simply decent, and yet a couple more that don't really raise the pulse level at all.

An ambitious, if flawed new album that once again tries to include many different things on one release, but unfortunately stumbles in several places.

Sure, the group can rock out at moments, but the majority of the 11 tracks on this release just feel warmed-over. They feel like they've been reworked countless times to make them better (and they have), but instead of actually making the tracks better, the life and vitality was sucked out of them.

An overproduced, sapped-down album that sounds really nice but fails to stick.

The problem is that it's just not very engaging, treading the same cinematic-heavy soundscapes over and over again without much in the way of dynamics or anything new in terms of sound.

Great in moments and undecided in others, The Grand Archives show hints of promise here, but don't really have enough to set them apart.

If you're a fan of their older work, you'll probably find yourself a bit turned-off here, but if you're a fan of well-played rock music with an ocassional burst to make it stick out from the masses doing the same, Final Straw might be something to check out.

In terms of Wolf Parade side projects, this one is no more trying than Swan Lake or Frog Eyes, but it's obviously nowhere near as immediate as work from the main group.

Arriving somewhere between the newer work of Styrofoam (on Morr) and The Postal Service, Electric President mainly dabbles in melancholy-tinged tracks with a couple bursts distributed through the album for good measure.

I'm not sure if it's the lack of a clear-cut conceptual idea or something else, but the 11 songs on the release just seem to plow along through waters that the group has already rowed many times before.

While the beats and programming are done well, much of it simply seems like slight variations on tracks that he's already done.

While it's all produced and performed immaculately, it just feels like too many of the rough edges have been smoothed off.

C'Mon Let's Pretend overall is a passable album, but the riffs just aren't nearly as catchy, and the group doesn't quite seem to have a command on their sound yet.

It's a little cheesier than the average trance album, but will probably appeal to some of those who enjoy Paul Van Dyk or even ATB

The Snare works well at moments and at other times feels like a rather tepid trip-hop release from a band still developing their sound.

It's definitely about as disjointed as they come, and while that loose style seems to invigorate some tracks, it makes for a release that's downright hard to listen to in places.

Discombobulated and downright clunky, Made In The Dark is a bit of a step back for Hot Chip.

While the group are certainly impressive in performance, they can't break free from an almost mechanical feel that lingers and really holds the album back.

I don't fault them for trying some new things, but the results are mixed at best.

Goodbye has a tendency to blur together in many places during the course of ten tracks and just under an hour in running length. If you like his past work, you might want to check this one out, but others will probably want to take a pass.

A varied and interesting album that is also a bit hit-or-miss.

In some ways, the release is validated almost completely by the inclusion of a bonus disc that includes all previous singles from LCD Soundsystem, most of which feel more thought-out and slamming than much of what resides on the album itself.

One of the problems with the album is that after the super-solid beginning the second half or so of the album just doesn't compare.

It's a bit harsh of me to say that there's nothing interesting going on in Player, Player because that's certainly not the case. Instead, the problem seems to be with contructing the songs themselves.

Donkey is about what one might expect from the group for a second album. Those who liked their rough edges the first time around might find themselves a bit disappointed by the new sheen, but they'll likely gain more fans they they lose.

It's sort of a bi-polar album of sorts, as it probably could have been cut down a lot in length and made into a concise gem of an album, but then you'd lose the odd atmosphere of the rest (which will either drive you nuts or space you out).

The first album from the group that feels downright tedious to me in places, as well as the first one that feels like they're spinning their wheels a bit.

If you've listened to any amount of industrial music at all, chances are that you've already heard about every variation of mid-tempo, snarling track, and unfortunately several of those make an appearence on this disc as well.

Midnite Vultues kind of sounds like an album Prince would have made if he were more interested in being a geek than carressing his own ego.

In the end, it just feels like Elephant is the culmination of the group trying to please absolutely everyone and it instead feels like sort of a mess.

Leave Your Name is 11 tracks and only 28 minutes long, about half of which feels like noodling.

If I didn't know better, I'd say that the duo was jumping on the electro (the trend that keeps on giving) bandwagon, but there are songs on the disc (like the album-titled "Black Cherry") that suggest more of a logical progression in sound, mixing the more breathy sounds of old with a touch of the more electronic-infected sounds of the new release.

It's kind of a whopper to digest all at once, but if you've heard Momus before and liked him, you're not going to go wrong here.

There are still some fine moments here, but there's more chaff than usual.

They definitely have some hummable hooks, and at moments the album feels like it's going to shake off the reigns of running the middle-ground, but just about the time you think things are going to bust loose like a rocking Monk and Cantella track, they swerve back into more agreeable sounds.

Radio-friendly pop music that sometimes sounds like Garbage, and other times even more playful.

For fans who are obsessed with seeking out everything Animal Collective, Black Dice, and experimental noise related, it's a fine bet, but for others this is going to rub the wrong way, which I suppose is part of the point.

Although there are some moments of greatness on the disc, it feels more like a cathartic vent-session than a well thought-out release.

Much of the sharp rhythm programming and quick dynamic changes that marked her previous effort is replaced with more straightforward 4/4 beats and relentless dirty basslines that unfortunately repeat themselves to the point of annoyance.

Easily the most plain-sounding album that LaValle has released to date.

If the group can somehow capture the more experimental and even odd edge of their different mixes, I think they might have something going. When they're just doing their thing, they simply sound like far too many other bands that are just trying to milk the legacy of the Jesus And Mary Chain a bit longer.

If you're a hardcore fan of Underworld, you'll find some things to love here (as I did), but others will probably want to reach for something more consistent.

In terms of overall sound and cohesion, it's a step up from the debut by the group, but it's almost clinical in precision and slightly numbing with riff after riff blasting away with the same sort of glossy production.

If you're fan of the previous work of Pole, tread gently (and skip the EPs and head directly for the album), but if you're looking to just start out with some of his work, head for his earlier releases.

Basically, Cansei De Ser Sexy sounds like a thirty minute dance party full of shouted vocal lines and vapid lyrics.

If you take away the 9 minutes of their already-released big single, you could probably squeeze a tight EP out of Louden Up Now, but as a full-length [it] starts with a bang and ends with sort of a whimper. Fun to filler in 53 minutes.

For every section that locks into something juicy, it's offset with three others that are just plain bad (or close to it).

If you enjoy ultra mellow jazz meanderings with the occasional slinky vocals that sound like they could be playing in the background at a mainstream coffee chain, Ma Fleur will provide in spades.

While everything on the release is technically put together well and even sometimes compelling (the two album-opening tracks work about the best), most of the time things feel like they've been written specifically for the person who's singing them.

The motions are there, but Beat Pyramid lacks real true depth.

[Most] of the album just sort of swirls through some nicely-produced, but ultimately not very engaging sonic fluff.

Woozy and stark, City Of Refuge is one of those releases that never really shifts dynamics too much (there's no rhythm section on the entire album) and feels a bit longer than it actually is.

Dangerous Dreams is just such a mixed-bag of goods that it's hard to feel much about it other than a couple of standouts.

Unless you're a big fan of the group, though, you'll probably find Do It! more than a little frustrating.

A document only for the hardcore fans.

It was a valiant try, but Tiny Cities just doesn't have a lot going for it unless you're a die-hard fan of Kozelek.

Over the course of 12 tracks and almost 50 minutes of music, there are hardly any dynamics to hold the listener's attention.