If Japanther focused more on their punk rock sensibilities and honed in on their talent for hook-infested pop songs, rather than trying to clean up their act, then they’d be far better off for it.

Jam is all well and good, but this record is at times lacking in the bread and butter of music--songs.

While there’s a certain amount of showmanship--he’s certainly still got skills--more often than not it sounds like he’s simply going through the motions.

Taiga is more of an achievement than that; it’s the mark of someone who has truly taken their time over their work. Cooped up in a friend’s holiday home in Washington, Nika Roza Danilova crafted a small slice of perfection.

[Breakthrough] is so much more than the hectic pastiches of exoticism that The Gaslamp Killer is famous for. Meticulous arrangements, pace, narrative and emotional authenticity are prioritized over an all-out assault of catatonia-inducing madness to convey its message.

On their third LP, Two Vines, the band continues to make glossy retro-futurist pop, creating a world of synthesizers and keyboards that feels both primeval and modern at once.

There are not enough personal elements on this album and too many invented ones. It's frustrating, too, because the honest snippets that occasionally poke through really shine.

Aan album that proves he’s more than capable on his own.

Their ambition is never in doubt though, and Everything Now brings some of their most sky-reaching moments yet.

Kudos for another reinvention, but the best version of Kele probably sits nearer the middle of the spectrum.

In drawing together all his disparate styles in to one distinct context, [Wolf] might have created his most accomplished album yet: albeit one that is a little too long, and rather in love with itself.

For an overwhelming portion of this Ryan Adams-produced record, La Sera just sound a bit too polite, and lacking in the smirking mischief of previous releases.

Documenting her journey with clarity and confidence, ‘Monthly Friend’ is an accomplished album that shows off Zoe Mead’s command.

As a whole, it feels slightly temporary and detached, largely thanks to its uneven pacing and experimental streak.

Manhattan would thus far be a brilliantly joyous record, buzzing with intention and vitality. Unfortunately there are a pair of oddball transgressions that ruin this.

'My Head Is An Animal' doesn't disappoint. Endearing, exciting, and downright enjoyable throughout, it is one of the finest debuts of the year so far.

Flynn and band are happy to be a little old-fashioned, but it can be fun to join them.

It's just so inoffensive and pleasant sounding that it barely registers.

‘End of the Day’ feels like a long, slow goodbye to her old life; elegant and, given the context, elegaic.

Though different in style and construction, they all succeed in doing in giving you the chills, in a whole new way.

If you pick and choose your way around the collection of jumbled songs on offer, maybe you’ll get the opportunity to revel in some speedy, sunny chimes for a little while, until that inevitable sundown, at least.

There’s an abundance of over-excited jitters that keep you bouncing to each wildly mercurial moment. ‘demon time’ is an undeniable rush to your systems, and a deliciously futuristic one at that.

On White Women, even the dodgy in-jokes are drowned out by astute songwriting.

To put it in an alcoholic analogy; their sound may be like a fine wine, maturing as it gets older. But they’re sure as hell not going to hesitate in sprinting to the nearest wood and necking the whole damn bottle.

For Toro y Moi enthusiasts, this will be nothing new, but for the rest of us 'June 2009' is an altogether pleasant blast from the recent past.

Best Coast will never win over the cynics who like their music to sport a more assured style of intelligence and invention, but for those who fell in love with the sunburnt stoner of old, there's plenty more to revel in, here.

Whimsical songs about stormy weather and journeying across the United States are sweet enough, but Max Bloom’s virtuous desire for simple arrangements and affected naivety is often to his detriment, sounding pedestrian at best.

Esben And The Witch's second LP is a thrilling, goosebump-raising collection of songs that will be in heavy rotation for the rest of the year (and beyond).