This is the most imaginative and urgent FNM have sounded in years--not to mention the most relevant. [Jun 2015, p.96]

II hits like a concussion grenade, and you'll revel in the damage long after the room's been cleared. [Jun 2015, p.96]

Anxiety's Kiss is what Coliseum have been working towards all these years. [Jun 2015, p.97]

"Bring Me Home" showcases a bit more of the band's mid-paced rock sound, very much coming across like when Face To Face try to mix punk and rock, which sometimes works and sometimes falls very short. Millencolin make it work, although when they're punking-out fast and hard (like on the awesome "Sense & Sensibility”), things work even better.

Hospital Handshakes is proof that you can get close to hitting rock bottom and still rise up from the ashes with the album of your career. [May 2015, p.102]

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

Instant Gratification cements the band's veteran status and solidifies what we've always hoped: Dance Gavin Dance will never die. [May 2015, p.98]

Foil Deer is a meticulous collection which deconstructs convention. [May 2015, p.100]

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]

After the doom and gloom of 2012's Gossamer, Kindred sees Angelakos walking back into the light. [May 2015, p.100]

Tori Amos fans will be thrilled, but those hoping to continue on a hard-rock bender will be left puzzled. [May 2015, p.100]

Frontman Colin Newman's pointed lyrics can be gloriously dry and the measured melodies of the songs are fine. [May 2015, p.102]

Any way you slice it, Glitterbug lives up to its explosive, playful name. [May 2015, p.102]

This 10-song effort will almost surely be a part of the soundtrack powering every block party, barbecue, summer shindig--and certainly toward the dance floor. [May 2015, p.98]

There's no obvious attempt at chasing a single or brass ring, just improvements on a sound the group have been trading in for more than a decade--and upgrades that might very well have resulted in their best album to date. [May 2015, p.95]

Beat The Champ takes you on a walloping emotional journey that proves great songwriting can compliment any subject matter. [May 2015, p.98]

Catchy, clever, no-frills fun. [Apr 2015, p.94]

Nerve Endings is a fine introduction. [Apr 2015, p.94]

None of these tracks are throwaways. [Apr 2015, p.92]

Golem works best when Wand finds a way to split the difference via proto-prog face peelers like "Cave In" or the Hawkwind-like "Planet Golem" where the sweet and acrid combine to make something particularly intoxicating. [Apr 2015, p.94]

Run is a quality listen. [Apr 2015, p.90]

Madness successfully articulates where the band’s headspace is right now; SWS put the time in and came out poised for greater things.

The Australian is a poet of common life, her almost-talked, observational tracks turn the mundane profound. [Apr 2015, p.90]

While Fantasy Empire does sound more crisp [recording in a proper studio] as a result, their music hasn't lost its raw energy. [Apr 2015, p.93]

Though each song is plainly predictable, the album is never boring as each track packs a few twists that thrill. [Apr 2015, p.91]

The Rezillos might be your parents' age, but they rock. [Apr 2014, p.93]

These offerings feel uncharacteristically flat. [Apr 3015, p.92]

This could-be landmark is dragged down a few notches by a grating singer. [Apr 2015, p.90]

Business as usual: Swervedriver create beautiful noise without breaking a sweat. [Apr 2015, p.94]

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

Falling In Reverse have given fans the rare gift of an artist stepping back to the sound they originally fell in love with. [Apr 2015, p.89]

The finest moments om the buzzsaw riffage category arrive via the majestic "Triumph," a waking Siamese (Day)Dream, and the skin peeling darkness of "Ripe." [Mar 2015, p.94]

An admirable effort, yet this feels like Gang Of Four taking six steps backwards into obscurity. [Mar 2015, p.93]

It's a tight little package of anthemic hook and heft that moves with even more purpose than 2012's Harmonicraft. [Mar 2015, p.94]

These songs have enough lyrical detail to project some moving pictures onto you mind's eye. [Mar 2015, p.94]

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

As the songs lengthen the transitions grow more subtle, their epic weight intensifies. [Mar 2015, p.92]

A sprawling, diverse affair. [Mar 2015, p.94]

They've made an undeniably great record that hits the sweet spot between distinction and accessibility. [Mar 2015, p.93]

Although the circumstances surrounding these songs' creation are undoubtedly tragic, Walker has been able to spin that sorrow into arguably the best material of his career. [Mar 2015, p.91]

If the album has a flaw, it's a lack of structure and differentiation; as the music progresses, songs become less distinct and less compelling. [Mar 2015, p.90]

No matter how far they push their boundaries, the songs remain catchy. [Feb 2015, p.91]

Murder By Death are tentatively stepping outside their comfort zone, abetted by a new member who already seems to have made them more dynamic and adventurous. [Mar 2015, p.90]

While Hyperview has less interesting moments, it's an overall push toward the total renewal that adds another chapter to the band's fascinating evolution. [Mar 2015, p.92]

Honestly, 34 years deep, this is one of the band's best albums. [Feb 2015, p.92]

Runners in the Nerved World serves as a transitional record for a band who continue to figure out who they are and what they want to be. [Feb 2015, p.92]

If it’s a retread you want, American Beauty/American Psycho isn’t for you. Because it’s the sound of a band boldly challenging themselves and their fans to let the past be just that, while embracing the weirdness and uncertainty of the new and the next.

It's hard not to proclaim it as the best album of Enter Shikari's already impressive career. Yes, it's that good. [Feb 2015, p.89]

They've returned fully charged on the triumphant No Cities To Love. [Feb 2015, p.94]

The result is a record that is frequently too busy. [Feb 2015, p.90]

Scottish popsters Belle & Sebastian neatly embrace and critique the politics of dancing on their ninth studio album. [Feb 2015, p.90]

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper arrives as less of a sonic surprise, but his knack for buoyant hooks remains on electronic psychedelia's forefront. [Feb 2015, p.92]

The Dream Walker tempers its aggression with songwriting nuance and emotional clarity.

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

The good: Tyler Carter and Luke Holland's performance one-ups YouTube tryhards on Paramore's "Ain't No fun"; Set It Off are naturals at this whole "pop" thing, nailing Adriana Grande's "Problem".... The bad: August Burns Red's cover of Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" tries to make a pp song pissed--it's dated on arrival.... The just plain ridiculous: Upon A Burning Body ft. Ice T covering "Turn Down For What?" [Dec 2014, p.107]

This album takes time to settle into, but once you are acclimated, it will leave you tingling. [Jan 2015, p.94]

Monuments to an Elegy is a stunning return to form, offering concise songs that plumb the vocalist/guitarist's stock in trade while offering new sonic veneers. [Jan 2015, p.93]

Things get a little dicier when they dip into the ’60s, as Deschanel doesn’t have the pipes to match up with the likes of Maxine Brown and Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.... Throughout the rest of Classics, though, Deschanel is a delight, at times coy and romantic, and in other moments, moody and pensive.

It's only the countrified twang of the Promise Ring's "Forget Me"--which should be the most emo song here--that doesn't really work. Everything else is delightful and, naturally, delightfully sad. [Jan 2015, p.94]

Only a few slip-ups occur (“Eyelids” wanders for too many minutes), but all in all, it’s a shiny debut from a band we are excited to watch improve.

This compilation has something for every fan, and with any luck, Bloodshot has another 20 years to look forward.

Dear Youth is a one-size-fits-all hardcore album, one that will lead many fresh faces through the door but leave returners looking for more.

The result is an urgent collection whose creative spark burns brightly. [Dec 2014, p.104]

Your best bet is to just let go and enjoy this long, schizophrenic ride through his candy-colored, drug-addled musical subconscious. [Dec 2014, p.107]

There are hints of something fresh on There's Nothing Wrong With Me. [Dec 2014, p.106]

There’s passion cooked into each Antemasque song, but it is curiously unmoving.

This is the stuff that draws people in and this is the record that should bring a whole passel of new fans into Seaway’s world.

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

As great as At War With Reality really is, it is nothing but expectations, and for a band that shattered preconceptions and spawned an absolutely unbearable number of copycat bands with their last album, that's actually a bit disappointing.

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]

Certain segments remain faithful to the original material while others are unrecognizable through veils of sawing bass, guitar clank, expansive percussion marches and a gang of 50-year-old dudes reliving their adolescence through music and busted guts. [Dec 2014, p.107]

El Bronx simply didn't go far enough, as only a handful of the album's 10 tracks mesh that inspired modernism with the traditional Mexican soulfulness they obviously hold dear. [Dec 2014, p.107]

This album aims straight for your hips and doesn't miss. [Dec 2014, p.104]

Musically, IX is less threatening then previous albums, but that doesn't mean it's any less potent. [Dec 2014, p.104]

When partnered with visuals, these songs will probably be a lot more impactful and resonant. As it stands, they're still pretty great. [Dec 2014, p.104]

While it's hard to recommend Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave outside of an environment of solitudinous nighttime drives (don't expect to hear this kickstart any parties), it's a deeply encompassing and occasionally profound experience that deserves to be felt by far more than the few lucky to already be inside the Twilight Sad's too-small circle.

Pleasant Living shows heaps of growth in a short year since their 2013 debut. [Oct 2014, p.102]

There's a foundation for true duality somewhere, but a lot of growing pains as well. [Nov 2014, p.94]

When it works, it’s great; when it doesn’t, it feels clunky at best and skippable at worst.

The band manage to still sound vital and fresh.

A beautiful, quiet and pensive affair, bristling with subtle electronics and wonderfully layered acoustics. [Nov 2014, p.90]

Chamberlain and Bowman know where they are going, and it’s a trip music fans should climb aboard to take.

LP3 hits life-affirming pinnacles upon its insistent yowls. [Nov 2014, p.98]

.5 is a fitting tribute to a musician who can never be replaced. [Nov 2014, p.88]

The album's strongest moments are found in the duo's ability to live in the moment and take a deep, cleansing breath. [Nov 2014, p.88]

[Earth Suck] gives off the sense that even the band don't quite know where they're going--but they'll have a fine, noisy time getting there. [Nov 2014, p.98]

An impressive effort. [Nov 2014, p.98]

Featuring 14 songs that fly by in what feels like no time at all (32:47, to be exact), Rancid’s eighth album doesn’t sound forced, which for a traditional punk band is often very hard to pull off.

Keep You certainly reaches for a hefty, developed sense of self beyond the grounding the band's held in contemporary punk, hardcore and emo some years now, but in doing so, it actually strikes the absolute perfect balance, enfolding the listener in honest and cathartic glory while enhancing its edges with just the right effects pedals and auxiliary instruments.

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.

These 12 songs are far more immediate than the sometimes-diffuse material on 2010's Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky. [Nov 2014, p.92]

This record contains the musings of a full-fledged adult who's still young enough to remember the ache of youthful restlessness, indiscretions and uncertainty. [Nov 2014, p.87]

A rapid barrage of sludge-rich bass, scalding guitar distortion and wrist-popping drums fill atop frontman Drew Thomson's infuriated black humor. [Nov 2014, p.98]

Overall, Plowing is an artistic, unique and rather enjoyable step few probably expected Iceage to make, and quite easily the band's best album yet.

This debut will pour plenty of gas in the band's tank. [Nov 2014, p.94]

You would need massive amounts of time on your hands in order to write, refine and record a debut album as thrilling as The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets.

She succeeds by involving lots of traditional instrumentation from various regions of the continent, and allowing for a variety of vocalists to join her throughout. [Oct 2014, p.100]

The band are writing songs still riddled with emotional turmoil, but they seem more jaded and contemplative. [Nov 2014, p.100]