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

Cinder isn't an album that wallops you over the head at any points, but wins you over with steady and solid songs.

If you like the group's other work, you'll definitely want to pick this up, even though it may take awhile to grow on you. Just don't expect a revolution.

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.

WIncing The Night Away as a whole is both inconsistent and even odd in sequencing.

Despite all the different guest appearances, Level Live Wires never feels hodge-podge or unsteady.

It doesn't seem quite as strong as Feels, but also seems like the group might be on the verge of something even better.

Having heard their first EP, it's not quite as much of revelation as it would have been, but it's still pretty darn good.

The disc as a whole has sort of an austere quality that lets some of the fun out of the sails.

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.

I wasn't expecting the group to completely break from their ways on this follow-up, but melodically and musically it's a little too close to the debut to really feel like it breaks any new ground.

At times touching and at others completely silly.

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.

It's a great return to form from the group, and easily their best full length since they've started incorporating vocals on nearly every song.

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.

Weird enough to have an edge, but a huge step up in terms of production and song-writing, this is a big move forward from the group.

In some ways, the 4 song EP is actually some of the most stripped-down work by the group, but it's also quite essential.

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.

All in all, the album is a good one, but still feels a small step away from being great.

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

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.

Overall, the album doesn't show quite the range that some of his previous works have done, but if you enjoy Waits, you're definitely not going to go wrong here.

A remarkably efficient album that zips by with plenty of highlights and begs for a press of the repeat button.

In the end, Parc Avenue finds a band creating some amazing music, but still putting out some feelers along the way.

However slight it is, there's a measured optimism in some of the lyrics on the release that make the weight of things just a little easier to bear.

Although some have dismissed the group as glorified emo, the group has really gone far and beyond such a simple statement.

The group takes the term "clinical" to new heights, yet this newest effort still sounds more loose than their last effort.

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.