Dedication is not an easily accessible album, but I cannot think of any other experimental album that is. These types of albums become increasingly rewarding with every listen, and this is one that should be heard.

Rainforest is an EP and it does leave the listener wanting. It works as a sort of mini album, finding enough variable direction to point toward a future template for Clams Casino with a myriad of aural directions when he does decide to craft a full-length.

All in all, Two-Way Mirror is a good but flawed album, with plenty of things to excite, but a few things that can disappoint.

Pure X have crafted a dream-like (think more Galaxie 500 and less Beach House) tapestry that is as difficult to derail as a freight train once it builds up relative speed.

So while the stylistic homogeneity erodes its high points, and it sometimes feels like one giant song, Within and Without harbours some rich, emotive sounds under its monochrome canopy.

Shabazz Palaces have pushed the music forward, so that it once again can be raw, real, and unconventional.

While I don't understand a lot of the decisions made on this record, it is still undeniably an exhibition of some of the best sonic control and sound shaping around.

Yeah, some of the electronic and percussive flourishes might be a little tired in 2011, but Givers sell it with such wide-eyed abandon and indulgent wonder that it's hard not to give in to the cacophonous stew of bursting pop euphoria.

We Must Become often hints at Joy Division's stylish brand of post-punk ennui, but by treating it as little more than a gimmick, Maus loses the urgency that makes Curtis's music so endurable.

With more ups than downs, Was I The Wave? is a pleasant diversion with a small handful of truly inspired moments.

There is the obvious notable contrast between Roberts' blunt delivery and the lushly treated instrumentation. But there's a pillowy negative space between all the divergent aesthetics that creates a resounding heft and felt resonance.

While it is hard to pinpoint anything wrong with Sound Kapital on a micro-level (and a great many people are likely to be happy with the collection), the resulting picture of Sound Kapital as a whole is one of complacency, making the album easy enough to like, but difficult to love.

All signs of growth are forfeit in an attempt to mimic the simple appeal of the material that got him here, right down to the title of the album; another installment in the Famous series, simply with The Album tacked on.

The results are just about as great as expected. Perhaps more than ever, the rapper paints the world of the faded, the dense and the spacey are a labyrinth for Curren$y's creation.

So much talk of tempo and expectation must not overshadow the greatest triumph that 4 has to offer: progression.

Goodbye Bread may not change the face of music, cause, y'know, it's only rock 'n roll. But it's damn hard not to like it.

Hopefully none of the charm of Special Affections is lost in the process, and the record is seen as more of a building block on which to add, rather than an early turn at which some distance is required. As the former, it is a great start to which greater things are implied, anticipated, and, eventually, expected. No pressure.

Ultimately, it might not be a more serious album than anything previous, but Shangri-La captures the spirit of uncertainty and restlessness that 21st century modernity has created.

New Brigade is over in about 23 minutes, and each second feels well worth your time. Though the band can get sloppy at points, perhaps even a bit repetitive, Iceage have crafted some very memorable tracks here; and more than anything, New Brigade shows that this band has much more to offer in the future.

To put it simply, Is This Hyperreal? suffers not because the band made a bad album, but because this is the fourth time they've repeated the formula.

The lyricism is impressive, and it's easy to get lost in it, but--some very noteworthy highlights aside--once that wears off, it's unlikely you'll return to Hell all that often.

Marissa Nadler is the sort of folk album that you'll be returning to simply because it is so varied.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver settles itself around a more narrative structure, letting the baroque arrangements move from one destination to another.

It's another dose of what Dunn seems to be becoming a modern master of, while carefully trying out new textures.

It's fun, accessible, at times completely unique, but ultimately it would have nice to hear Jr. Jr. challenge their own sound a little more on their debut album.

In the end, Sun And Shade proves far more complex than the label of psych-folk would indicate, to the point that its small flaws are easily forgivable.

It's worth giving Castlemania a few more chances, because beneath what feels like constant disharmony, is something quite refreshing.

It's All True still has the most in common with its predecessor: the clean production, the attention to detail, the instrumental experimentation (those Eastern flourishes on the first two tracks are strangely easy to miss like the live instruments on Begone) and careful arrangements are all traits that have been carried forward, but many of those (if not all) are core ingredients in what makes up the music of Junior Boys, and they'll likely feature on their future releases for many years to come.