Marr has become a more assured singer, which is one of several ways this album improves on Boomslang.

This album may not prove to be everyone’s cup of tea and may require a bit of hope and patience to listen to Samurai. Joakim has made an album that is simultaneously familiar yet unique and sets you on a creative sonic journey.

It’s a little too smoothed out and indistinct now--most of the songs are well crafted but a little TOO well crafted.

It would seem as if she’s making music from a disengaged point of view.

All this noise stays in service of the songs, which remain as self-reflective and personal as ever.

Band of Skulls has made a new rock and roll classic.

The songwriting ... takes a bit of a dip on this one. Oh sure, the first few songs are pretty good but that's it, just pretty good.

The songs on Blanco first appeared on Bazan’s monthly 7” series, so it seems clear that using synthesizers was one way of differentiating them from their original versions. (He must like doing this, since his last album was a collaboration with the Passenger String Quartet.) But he seems to be onto something interesting with this electronicized approach.

True to its title, Solid States is, again, a solid workman-like affair, flush with resolute integrity, catchy choruses and songs that sound tailor made for instant gratification.

Sure, Kool Keith lets some profoundly dumb lyrics loose on Love and Danger, but they all seem in service of some improvisational rope-a-dope that ultimately finds him landing a knockout punch.

Though there are portions of We Are Undone which could definitely be considered unhinged, nothing here suggests they’re even close to being undone at this stage.

The news is, basically, modest: On the whole, Hairdresser Blues picks up where the first album left off.

Blue Songs has impressive diversity and variety.

Underrated Silence is never less than pretty, and often strikingly so, yet it lacks the grit that might make these compositions emotionally involving.

Their strongest collection by far.

Playin' in Time With the Deadbeat is the right kind of challenge, its knotty twists and cranky attitude adding to the noisy, visceral thrills.

Somewhere along the line, this became an amazing band, and songwriting/arranging this masterful elevates Blur The Line to modern-classic status, fully justifying the 5-star rating applied at the top of this review.

As a tribute, Dead Man’s Town: A Tribute to Born in the USA is fine enough; just falling short of the material it champions.

Fortunately, most of the singers feel a kinship to Drake that comes through. They communicate that this is a cause worthy of their most thoughtful interpretive skills.

Admittedly, Taylor’s patented droning mantras can be a bit numbing when stretched out to an hour. But when his artistic vision hits exactly the right balance with his emotional thrust, it’s hard to imagine the music sounding any other way.

If Witching Hour was the finest apple the band ever produced, this is their finest orange. But as a whole, it probably is their best and most well-rounded record.

Sky Full of Holes is the perfect sound of a band staying within their comfort zone while not forgetting the power of the almighty hook.

Maybe it's just a question of getting used to this new Mangan, but you can't help but lament the old one's demise.

Some of the half-crazed momentum is missed, particularly during the meandering tracks that end the LP. But mostly the Warlocks thrive in this environment of release-free tension, letting Skull Worship seethe rather than rage, and it’s no less effective for the restraint.

The songs on their second full length Baba Yaga are not immediately sticky, in fact they take some time sink in.

Indigo Meadow is an assured, exciting piece of work.

There are hints of a potentially great band on Strange Land, just not enough to sustain a full length.

They play one too many Springsteen cards with the dark “Cadillac Road” (at this point, Bruce pretty much owns any lyrics that revolve around mills shutting down), but the record ends on another strong track, “Across the River.” Taken as a whole, All Across This Land is one of the group’s strongest offerings in years.