At times, lyrics seem a bit too obvious, but its usually at these points that Dear also pushes his songs into more over-the-top mode, making them feel a bit more sarcastic at the same time.

An excellent atmospheric rock album.

Over quiet, shuffling drum machine beats, the two spill out woozy guitars, vocals, and organs into slightly off-kilter pop nuggets that sound like they could have been made at any point in the past thirty (or more) years.

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.

Another semi-spotty 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.

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.

The biggest problem with the release is that it's simply a little too programmed for it's own good.

One could argue that it sounds like a different group on this release, and technically it is. Still, if you like the last album from Rogue Wave, I can't imagine you going wrong with this one.

It's not the sort of release that's going to really knock you out, but it's spry and sharp and arrives as just the perfect time in early summer.

Minus a couple tracks on the release (including the very Luscious Jackson-esque "Roll The Dice"), this release is more like the female version of Air or Stereolab-lite.

Like his debut, it could use a bit more focus and some editing, but the basement hits feel is part of the charm with VanGaalen.

There are plenty of polyrhythms, but not much to hum along with. A big step up from their debut, this one will be much loved by riddim heads.

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

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.

[A] blistering album.

At times enjoyable, at other times somewhat bland, And The Opera Circuit is a somewhat inconsistent follow-up release from the young artist.

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.

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 darker energy that the group brought to their earlier releases (like Dubnobasswithmyheadman), you may find this release a little soft in the middle.

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.

The album is a bit hit-or-miss, fortunately more of the former than the latter.

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

It's a much breezier affair, as if Air and Daft Punk have been cross-bred with The Notwist and Mouse On Mars.

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.

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.

Mostly a blast of fun.

An atmospheric slab of mostly instrumental keyboard-driven music that basically sounds like a further advanced version of what LaValle has been doing for some time now.