This long-awaited unveiling isn’t the easiest of listens, with consistently busy-sounding fare ranging from the manic, laser show hyperactive (“We’d Kill Each Other,” “I Need A Parasite”) all the way to slower and sultry new romantic nods (“Springtime Of Our New Love,” which could actually pass for the ’80s uncle to Glassjaw’s “Ape Dos Mil”). But it is definitely fun, and absolutely well-done.

American Music Club are as morose as ever. [Dec 2004, p.150]

La Di Da Di urges you to dance and then challenges you to keep up with every bob, weave and time signature shift. [Oct 2015, p.98]

Embraced by the masses or resigned to cult status, Sebadoh's reunion is a welcome one, and this strong album is a fine return to peak period form.

No surprises really to be found here, but that's not what you're here for: You stick with the band for their assured songwriting and richly rendered freakouts. [May 2015, p.96]

As was true in those bygone days, the hippieish uplift can get a little fuzzy, but the bass-rattling jolt of "Buffalo" will clear your head--and fill the floor--fast. [Sep 2014, p.104]

The "ordinary" stories about a new marriage after the shine wears off aren't as dramatic as a broken heart or life-threatening illness, but they're no less real and gradually embed themselves in the listener's mind. [Nov 2011, p.93]

The group take a far lighter approach with the haunting “Madrid,” the airy, guitar-free “MSK” and sparkling closer “California,” a piano ballad straight from the Jason Lancaster playbook. It’s a risk, and it doesn’t always work, but you end up glad Yellowcard found the courage to hoist their sails at all this year and still plot a course, as uncharted as it may be.

As a whole, they don't quite match the melancholy majesty of his debut O, but moments do rival his best work. [Dec 2014, p.108]

Some Kind Of hate maintains the anthemic death-pop/metal trajectory Aiden started wit their previous release, Disguises. [Dec 2011, p.118]

The tracks are teeming with intelligence, melody and some tempered anger thrown in for good measure, saving the band from being labeled as mere copycat. [Mar 2014, p.93]

Comparatively [from debut Celebrasion], About Last Night is significantly polished; the sound is brighter, and Kandel’s vocals have become smoother and more refined

A substantial improvement over the gentle snoozefest that was 2000's Early Days. [Apr 2002, p.76]

An uplifting, hope-giving affirmation of resurgence from a band who might have been down at one point but were definitely never out. [Dec 2009, p.117]

In the Pit of the Stomach is a fine achievement, but one that feels counter to the usual trajectory of your average rock group. [Nov 2011, p.98]

This is not the greatest music Trivium have ever recorded, but no one could accuse them of sullying their name with substandard chunder.

It showcases a wise and occasionally raw Hause sharpening his veteran punk chops into rousing and often smoothly melodic fare. [Mar 2017, p.82]

While much of contemporary music fixates on flash and bang, it's refreshing to hear emphasis on what the singer is saying. With a lyricist this gifted, that more than suffices.

Here, retaking the signature spell that Hellion and crew first conjured in the ’90s Cleveland scene, the band’s haunted hardcore gets a fresh coat of paint for the next stage of darkness. If you’re ready to enter the nightmare, this will get you howling.

This progressive spin on the classic EpiFat sound yields original, enjoyable results. [Dec 2014, p.105]

When the band are a little more concrete and less spooky, the results are especially compelling, but Screamworks is ultimately successful in its blending of melody and muscle. [Mar 2010, p.90]

Somehow, this record sounds like it's skipping or running at the wrong speed, yet completely natural all the while. [Jul 2014, p.100]

Xerxes debut LP is a solid take on the burgeoning Pg.99/Modern Life Is War hybrid. [Apr 2012, p.99]

Hot Mess has everything you hate to admit you love about Cobra Starship. [Sep 2009, p.104]

They've made a graceful exit here. [Oct 2016, p.86]

This EP might be a surprise to some, but it is in keeping with the puckish spirit that has underpinned the quintet's nearly 35 years together.

This fifth full-length has everything fans expect from an Eisley record. [Mar 2017, p.82]

Refreshingly retro without being anachronistic, Free Energy burst with unironic sun-flecked highs--it's classic rock from 8-track heaven. [Feb 2010, p.93]

While Get Your Heart On! might not be the true return to form the band envisioned, it's ultimately worth the wait. [Jul 2011, p.105]

Sure, their label debut feels slightly more hooky and accessible in places. But Darker Handcraft is mostly the same humble, misanthropic band, playing relentlessly, vicious, rapid metallic hardcore with their requisite flashes of D-beat, grind and thrash influence. [Apr 2011, p.122]

It may not be a challenging album, but it's close to pop perfection. [Oct 2011, p.107]

The second half of the album loses momentum due to the overly long, soggy pop of "Crescendo" and "Strangers," although Nocturnes recovers nicely on the flawless synth-pop jam "All For You," where Hesketh shows off her dramatic, emotive vocals. [Jun 2013, p.98

An exercise in simplicity, Free Will’s one critique is at times feeling too simple. Given enough time, though, and a quiet enough room, the beauty in the music comes through strong, and second listens let the lyrics ring truer.

Their continued filtering of '50s girl-group melodies through swelling pop songs that crib equally from the noise/indie/dream spheres captivates in newly charming ways. [Oct 2012, p.88]

Compared to hearing 2001's instantly gratifying I Get Wet, listening to The Wolf is like getting mindblowing sex on a first date, only to have that person get a job at the Vatican the next day. [Oct 2003, p.136]

If one can digest [Thompson's singing], though, Hairball makes for a pretty fun listen. [May 2015, p.100]

There's no question Biersack and the boys are making an active decision to go after the Rock On The Range crowd with lunkheaded hard rock and painfully bland ballads that are just dull enough to strike a chord with middle America. [Jul 2011, p.106]

I'm From Barcelona have already moved on from the instantly infectious sense of fun that made the better cuts of "Let Me Introduce My Friends" so endearing. But it's not as though they've turned their backs completely on the quirks that brought them this far. [Nov 2008, p.154]

What Happens in Hell Stays in Hell finds the trio beefing up their sound without betraying the genre. [Sep 2011, p.116]

A crooning Busdriver is frequently more intelligible, revealing his sense of humor and beauty. [Mar 2012, p.94]

Dear John rewards the attentive listener with complexities crafted by a Swedish pop masermind; just don't mediate on the lyrics for comfort after an emotional breakup. [Mar 2009, p.106]

It’s a good record, to be sure, but that’s to be expected by TBS at this point: These guys are professional musicians who have sold a few million records and toured the world countless times over. Unfortunately, a “good” record just isn’t good enough anymore.

Though it has a couple great cuts that are in the running for Britpop song of the year, With The Tides lacks definition, making South more a group in the midst of a movement than one defining it. [Oct 2003, p.138]

Nuanced, sophisticated pop somewhere between Ben Folds and Spain. [Oct 2005, p.168]

Blixa Bargeld's singing voice lacks distinction, but Mobile's emotional intensity, cinematic grandeur and eerie beauty render that a moot point. [Mar 2004, p.110]

A patchwork quilt of wispy Britpop ballads soaring majestically in an effort to overcome their own blandness. [Oct 2002, p.78]

Venus Doom is such a refreshing return to an organic, guitar driven sound unheard since 2003's "Love Metal." [Nov 2007, p.170]

The first six songs include plodding modern rock that sounds like the Offspring's "Gone Away," an attempt at dark disco with clumsy lyrics and cheeseball pop. But if you stick it out, you'll be rewarded: Invented's second half features gorgeous "Littlething," Adkins' top-notch duet with Rachel Haden and Linton's punchy "Action Needs An Ambulance." [Oct 2010, p.112]

Air build a soundtrack to the movie in your head that always eclectic and often lovely. [Nov 2009, p.106]

It's impossible not to throw up the horns, bang the head and get caught up in the heavenly haze of 13.

In short, Augustana is every Top 40 radio programmer or licensing supervisor's dream disc. [May 2011, p.92]

True to form, the band deliver yet again on Car Alarm. [Nov 2008, p.155]

While it isn't his best work, Rain on Lens shows that Callahan is proving to be frustratingly hard to pin down, but capable of unleasing brilliance at any given time. [Nov 2001, p.94]

Double Figure forms a mysterious narrative filled with enough breaks and builds to keep the most jaded beathead more than satisfied. [Aug 2001, p.96]

[Turner's] newer sound, along with more layered arrangements, lends itself nicely to Arctic Monkeys' take on pop, balladry and stoner rock. [Jul 2011, p.106]

On 2008's Brain Thrust Mastery, the trio attempted to inject a bit more seriousness and Brit-pop influence into their best-when-kept-simple sound, to varying results, but Barbara finds them back in their comfort zone--fun, danceable pop-rock.

Should please sophisticated pop connoisseurs. [Nov 2001, p.85]

III features the type of effortless electro-pop which made the act's 2006 debut, We Are Pilots, so irresistible. [Nov 2012, p.94]

The songs are good, if a tad bit faceless. [Apr 2012, p.99]

The one thing the album really lacks, though, is an obvious single. While many songs are memorable, there is nothing that suggests any of the tracks have the classic quality of "Juneau," "History," "Streetcar" or "Into Oblivion (Reunion)."

With Our Endless War, the band have shown they have more than enough skills, and they finally have enough ideas; it's time for them to take the plunge, break through deathcore's confines, and become the band they could be.

It all works... simultaneously calling to mind Fall Out Boy and Franz Ferdinand. [May 2007, p.158]

Those fond of musical risk-taking will find Light Chasers to be a thrilling experience. [Oct 2010, p.113]

FC Kahuna tracks revel in the duo's simple blurbs of sound and less-is-more sonics. [Jan 2003, p.91]

The band's piecemeal rock 'n' roll emerges a mish-mash of spacey barroom blues, with Kevin's voice sometimes struggling yo pair with the front-and-center obligation that rawer music demands. [Aug 2010, p.146]

Compromise is usually a dirty word in music, but here's one that really works. [Jan 2012, P.98]

Sure there are some lulls; but the face-melting trash that surrounds these tunes proves the band still have it in 'em to, well, slay. [Dec 2009, p117]

Even at his most commercial, Jake stays true to his groove. [Jan 2008, p.131]

A solid rock album that plays like the history of Great Britain's contributions to rock 'n' roll. [Mar 2015, p.92]

Not everything hits the mark, but there's enough to delight in and offer plenty of hope for the Chiefs' future. [May 2014, p.93]

The reason it works is that the songs themselves are consistently interesting without recognizable samples or gimmicks, often boasting melodies you'll walk away humming. [Oct 2012, p.88]

This Means War exhibits admirable growth.

The haunting tone unfurls itself further with every successive listen, making this an album worth returning to again and again. [June 2009, p.102]

The Distance Is So Big isn't as immediately accessible as previous Lemuria records, but overall, it has far more depth. [Jul 2013, p.100]

Strikingly beautiful pop songs. [Nov 2004, p.142]

A satisfying and surprisingly profane comeback. [Jan 2005, p.114]

What remains on Night People is anthemic enough to keep people listening. [Feb 2017, p.82]

K-os occasionally veers into icky soft-pop territory on Atlantis, but give him props for mostly imagining where hip-hop might go in the future rather than recycling its past. [Mar 2007, p.144]

The most inventive and sly pop you're likely to hear in 2014. [Apr 2014, p.90]

The album's transition between punk-rock madness and mid-tempo melodies keeps Rush To Relax from getting redundant, and while you may have heard this sound before, it rarely sounds this good.

They’re obviously still working out the kinks that come with stepping out of one’s comfort zone, but all in all Let The Ocean Take Me is an encouraging signpost that sees the Amity Affliction slowly tearing up the blueprint that drove their early works.

Vannucci, stepping out from behind the drum kit, may not exactly be Dave Grohl, but his rock 'n' roll yelp is fitting with the music and a solid reminder that we don't need glitzy synths to craft solid, raucous songs. [Aug 2011, p.112]

Inventive and highly improvised. [Feb 2004, p.88]

Does it work? It depends on your idea of "flow": If you don't mind sandwiching the Trent Reznorish "Introduce" and the Squarepusher-on-crank mess of "First : Break" between the opulent epics that comprise the middle and the end of the album, Idiology comes off as an inspired collection of irreverent hackery and emotional depth. [Jul 2001, p.79]

It's a testament to Starlight Mints' kitchen-sink approach that each listen yields varied results. [Jun 2006, p.180]

It's a fairly strong, welcomed return from one of the decade's best bands of its kind. [Jan 2015, p.91]

The tone grows shrill by album's end, but occasional bursts of accessible production help alleviate that shortcoming. [Oct 2002, p.84]

If they don't make you get down, they'll certainly get your attention. [May 2005, p.124]

It is a more assured and catchier effort and showcases far better songwriting [than its 2011 debut], and though the quality wavers on a few tracks, overall it justifies those who passed on them before taking another look.

Though a giant-sized step in the right direction, Younger is not without its growing pains. [Jan 2011, p.92]

While Matssib certainly isn't breaking any new ground on his follow-up to 2008's "Shallow Grave," the songs reign supreme and his emotive tenor mixes perfectly with his worn-down acoustic guitar, all captured in perfect lo-fidelity. [May 2010, p.108]

Although the album occasionally slogs through Broder's intentionally weird melodies, it boasts enough oddball genre fusing to keep you engaged. [Oct 2007, p.172]

Policy feels a bit too plotted, too controlled. The best moments come when Butler loosens his grip a bit. [Apr 2015, p.92]

As it stands, Lowborn isn't as good as Vital, but it still does an admirable job at continuing Anberlin's sonic expression. [Jul 2014, p.95]

This 13-track disc can be heard as a welcome return to basics. [Aug 2011, p.118]

Ladytron suddenly sound evey bit as awesomely eclectic as, well, "Softcore Jukebox." [Aug 2008, p.174]

The band's most obviously emo album to date. [Mar 2002, p.72]

Enjoyable throughout. [Dec 2012, p.92]