Sure, it's nice to hear such a talented songwriter working with ease and precision, but it's just not always that interesting.

While making this album worth the wait was a tall task, Between The Times & The Tides comes about as close as we could have hoped to accomplishing just that.

Delta Spirit delivers a handful of superb cuts that have the band taking a modest step forward.

Ekstasis is a challenging listen, but a rewarding one.

While One Second of Love contains this personal touch of sound, it isn't used to potential.

Wrecking Ball is an album that will reinforce most everyone's preexisting opinion of The Boss, whether they be good or bad.

While it's an album prime for some excellent live renditions, it's the tendency to brood too much or even approach tedium at some points leaves further room for the development of this sound.

Ssss is absorbing techno to listen to and proof that well written music outscores clever production tricks any day of the week.

While there are plenty of fantastic moments to be found and the album is certainly recommendable, its sluggishly repetitive second half reminds the listener too often of exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of this band are.

White Rabbits have made a record that is truly their own, so much so that at points it hurts the record.

As an album, it's ultimately too bogged down by its professionalism and erraticism to come together very well.

The strongest album of their career thus far.

Zoo is a well-produced record that captures a band on its way up the ladder.

Open Your Heart is incredibly intricate and technically masterful.

On first listen to Fanfarlo's sophomore effort, it doesn't leave a lasting impression, but with repeat listens, more and more intricacies start to creep out of the woodwork.

It's the beginning of something that is very promising--a surprise reinvention from an artist many had assumed they'd already figured out.

The end result then, is the sound of Bird settling down, becoming comfortable with his music and letting it come off as natural, without losing the sense of enjoyment and the hypnotic dynamism of his core elements.

The version the band have made is still a solid, if not rather good, Kaiser Chiefs album. [Review of UK release The Future Is Medieval]

The lack of "slower" numbers doesn't really feel like a valid criticism, though, especially when the band really are at their best when they're riding a burst energy.

Quite simply, Plumb is how pop music should sound.

These are stories we've already heard told better, and in the same voices.

The record is 15 short vignettes about lost, unattainable, suboptimal, or just plain impossible love, and The Fields nail each and every one.

Ternion is a greatly entertaining album with plenty of replay value, especially in those stand out tracks.

The Russian Wilds is hardly going to shock you to the core, but it's a more than able record by one of the most consistently strong groups in its genre.

If you take one thing away from this debut, take away the fact that it's thoroughly deserved.

Toward the Low Sun staggers to get that momentum, though it does achieve atonement through progression.

52 minutes is a pretty damn lengthy runtime for a debut synth-pop album, but TRST flies by.

The moments of brightness--some poetry here, a brief pop moment there--will get most listeners through the album, but won't inspire them to keep coming back.

With Ghostory, School of Seven Bells recovers with a newfound voice, still evokes everything they once were as dream pop dealers, but it's still extremely visible that they have more room to grow.

There are stretches, most notable the middle third, where the impulse to experiment obscures the user-friendliness, but nitpicking like this detracts from what we really should be acknowledging.

While Personality is worthy of praise for its feverous energy and detailed, hot-iron arrangements, there isn't a lot to make the album really stick.

Despite the leaps and bounds that this effort makes songwriting wise, it just feels less unique than it did before.

Hive Mind is confident in finding a throughway and becomes as much a joy to listen to for its toy-box experimentation as it is for its head-nodding immediacy.

It manages to sound familiar while sounding entirely new, all the while making it clear that this is a sound only Lambchop could create.

Mark Reign of Terror down as a fairly successful, but ultimately transitional work.

Where I was expecting a great album, I've instead encountered one that's merely very good.

These songs are probably Jurado's most ambitious portraits yet in terms of ideas and eclecticism.

It is the bravery of the album that is its greatest triumph.

It's big, open, cavernous, so much so that it feels like it could swallow you entirely, and so you let it because it's comforting, warm, and safe.

All that need really be said is that it is sublime; both in terms of execution and aesthetics.

All the talent in the world can't cover up the fact that Queen of the Wave simply tries too hard and succeeds too infrequently.

Guaranteed both to amuse and to confuse, Ten$ion is a masterpiece of kitsch: an intently provocative, tongue-in-cheek rave-rap record, by a cryptic performance art group.

They do doom and gloom very well, and more importantly, offer their own unique slant on the sound rather than sound like Joy Division clones.

The "point," if there is such a thing with this kind of music, is that even during its most trepidatious or lonely nadirs, there is a beauty to experiencing love that overwhelms the heart. Windy & Carl seem to aim to replicate that overwhelming sensation through their music.

Despite its short length, Kindred provides as much of an experience as Untrue. And commendably, it's a different one.

There are moments where the album drags, and there's no one that's going to be declaring this a modern classic, but with this strong debut, Young Magic have cemented themselves as a band to watch in the coming years.

The result is an album that is still adrift at sea, unaware of the musical landscape around them.

The Caretaker certainly remains a fascinating and worthwhile project.

Overall, while Blondes' debut album isn't quite as dynamic as the EP, it still serves its purpose as a notable standout from the upstart duo.

On Sweet Sour, Band Of Skulls show themselves to be well equipped to keep the garage blues/rock flame alive.

While A Sleep & A Forgetting is a bold new statement for the band, the album occasionally treads on the mundane level, due to its similarly-orchestrated tracks.

There's much to cherish here, but this isn't a complete effort.

Tramp is simply her most fully-realized album yet, and that's all there is to it.

Mark Lanegan has accomplished something truly magnificent with Blues Funeral.

As a package on its own, Air's Le voyage dans la lune doesn't hit especially hard, but when paired with the historic film, they become a dreamy, fulfilling piece of entertainment and mystery.

Fans will be glad to accept this triplet and know that the creation of this style of music in his plans.

It has the potential to sidle next to records like Movements and We Are Monster as a genre classic, but it's just as assured to find a broader audience as well.

It gets repetitive after a while.

This new release does function better as a cohesive work, but oddly enough they seem to have restricted their musical vocabulary even further.

The only caveat to Themes is that its stark cohesion demands a single two hour sit-through to soak in the weight of its patient, holistic, slowly-unfolding approach.

Apart from the aptly titled "Film Credits," which, worthily, plays much like a ode to Max Richter, the music on the remainder of the album is left to unsatisfying and grey piano suites that don't sound destined for a more open setting nor benefit from the intimate setting of Arnalds' own living room.

There are good ideas scattered about on the record, but when you have to pass through several minutes of cacophonous effects and layers of sound, it can get a little exhausting.

The whole EP feels weightless and aloft as if we have a clear view of the blinding blue gap between its heights and depths.

Astronomy sounds like a healthy stroll down 90s Alternative Alley, and is as comforting as it is overly familiar; giving it a listen won't change your perspective on music, but it might make you pine for the good old days.

Barnes has definitely taken a step in right direction.

Be The Void matches guitarist Scott McMicken's clever lyrics, precise riffs, and quivery vocals to the rare glottal gift and intricate bass work of Toby Leaman in this jumble of freaky throwbacks, reflective ruminations, and spontaneous psychedelic bursts.

As out of place as the occasional vocals are, the production surrounding them is impressive enough to at least disregard the problems for the short-term.

Raekwon returns with material to please both generations of his fans.

It's an enjoyable album, and the playing is astoundingly good.

Unless you really enjoy music in commercials, you should avoid this disc.

Much like a good wine, the album mellows out and becomes better.

Old Ideas is not the man's latter-day masterpiece but its title is as bluntly honest as any you'll see this year, in more ways than one.

An insistent, vital, full frontal assault.

Bar a few tracks that outstay their welcome, there is a lot to love about this album.

Six songs on Have Some Faith in Magic are more than five minutes long, but not once does it feel like it, because the album gets so much done.

Be Strong is a rather exhaustive album when consumed in one sitting, but if you've got the fortitude to reach the closing track "The Church" during that listen, it can be a very euphoric climax.

The most disappointing aspect about Syd Tha Kid's delivery is her inability to create a remotely compelling protagonist - something Odd Future members have proved themselves more than capable of doing.

Sure, they may borderline on gimmick at times, but Born To Die has its own sound, and that is more than we can say about a lot of music that is presently being released.

For the most part, Rad Times Xpress IV bubbles over with a love of over the top rock n roll that's impossible to not find endearing.

Feel the Sound is not a classic, it's not a masterpiece, and despite its pristine delivery, it's not perfect. But it is an honest and genuine sampling of a band who continues to subvert expectations.

As it is, The Lion's Roar is a quality release, but due to the stand out tracks being placed at the front and the end, the middle section feels weaker than it is, making the overall impression of the album suffer.

Hopefully we'll hear something redeeming from Gonjasufi, because MU.ZZ.LE is a step in the wrong direction, or even worse, a step backwards.

Based on the strengths of The Dreamer/The Believer, it's simply nice to hear a resurgent Common back on track, doing what he does best, even if he's not the

With much of the flash stripped aways from him, Craig Finn proves that he is a formidable songwriter first and foremost, and here we find him sitting on a stool and playing songs at his most comfortable.

Remiddi has produced a truly excellent record which resonates emotionally and sonically.

While their sound has come together quite well, its really Polachek's vocal abilities that leave the best impression.

It's a more than suitable followup to two solid collections of songs, and is the first truly solid coherent work in a career that will hopefully be marked by many many more.

Voyageur is a very fine record and only a couple of songs short of a great one, with Edwards' vocals and songs plus the warm-yet-crisp production being the main attractions.

It's their breakthrough album and shows that with focus and confidence, the future could be pretty exciting for The Maccabees.

Headcage has a pair of iffy tracks to weigh down two good--if not great--tracks, the whole EP sits in a generally favourable position in my view.

Future This is stuck in some kind of awful, awful limbo between Robert Smith-less Cure and hyperbolic electro dance music.

A new album from a new artist, with an old sound newly restored, think of this as a letter of recommendation to you, dear America.

Reznor and Ross have managed to balance creating fitting soundscapes without overshadowing the poignant dialogue.

One of the more vocal complaints about The Weeknd's second mixtape was its lack of immediacy, which Echoes of Silence certainly outgrows.

As a whole, the album's sound suggests that of a band on auto-pilot, one that's not so much invested in recording new material as it is in simply going through the motions of recording new material.

Some might lament the lack of tension in this album, but when the music's this beautiful, who needs it?

It's the broader story through which Undun gains its strength; through the musings and rants of Black Thought and Dice Raw (who, this time around, has near as large a presence as the group's leader).

By reaching every-damn-where he could, ASAP Rocky both sidesteps this pitfall and becomes one of the year's most exciting voices.