Inoffensive music Iike this is an affront to the very idea of what makes music so worthy of obsession and analysis. It's the antithesis of self-expression; this ain't no victimless crime. For the first time, I understand the term: this is pure co-worker music.

It has brief sparks of a fresh creativity and has plenty of potential, but doesn't take steps bold enough to totally reinvent itself, making for a record littered with moments that let it sink into the forgettable parts of the band's catalogue.

Don't You puts up a strong front that should connect with fans of all those aforementioned artists, but Wet's debut only connects with contemporary R&B, never pushing it forward.

Ultimately, there isn't much to recommend with Black Panties.

While the mix is peppered with samples from Butler's yoga guru, Parahamansa Yogananda, aiming for a spiritual vibe, this set is really one big party.

For much of Meteorites, strings attempt to fill in the hole that was the band's characteristically dynamic, propulsive low-end, to mixed results.

FWA's opening trio of "Glory," "He's Dead" and "I Feel Good" is severely tempered by the inclusion of clunky ballads with less-than-inspired production. Lyrically, there is little reference to Wayne's Carter V struggles amidst a wealth of new punch lines, but for every bit of wordplay that has potential to become another Weezy quotable, there is a handful of other cringe-worthy instances to counter.

This is a perfect match of old school talent and righteous inspiration.

Myths 004 is a feat of atmospheric storytelling that keeps us on our toes.

Ultimately, Zeus keeps nodding to the past even as they look toward the future on a record that's both introspective and jubilant.

Moby isn't letting the ills of the world get him down though; instead, they serve as the driving force behind These Systems Are Failing, an album both powerful and political that plays through without coming off the least bit preachy.

A Girl Cried Red takes you back in time to the nostalgia of your emo days.

Their albums just get better and increasingly fun to listen, and Blood for the Master confirms that.

It doesn't take long for the desire to have Auerbach dial down his magic formula just a notch to take hold.

The band maintain a proficiency at writing catchy riffs and intoxicating grooves, merging the likes of Sabbath with ZZ-Top, but the feeling of repetition, combined with a lack of impact like they used to have, may leave fans wanting.

While it's unlikely they'll ever again have the kind of recording budget a major label can afford, they certainly made the best use of what they had. That they made an excellent record in the process is a feather in their cap and a giant middle finger to the label that paid for it.

While it is unlikely that many listeners will find this song [Just Waves] worth revisiting, the rest of the EP is strong, and recommended especially to those already familiar with the group.

Birthmarks might throw off some, maybe even lose them, but the gamble has paid off, and will undoubtedly result in producing more new fans, as well as reassuring old ones.

This is a fantastic debut full of genuine warmth.

The diversity he curates quickly turns messy, though, as a surplus of talent doesn't guarantee musical versatility.

ARTPOP is a dynamic, memorable album that, while it fails to unveil the girl behind the aura, reveals a performer who finally sounds as invested in her art as she is in her image.

Like anyone enjoying the early rush of romance, this kind of music can feel silly with hindsight. But if you're willing to have yourself transported back to a time when you felt similarly, Pale Waves will do all the heavy lifting.

Metawar will not only please current fans, but will likely win them scores of new blood, simply due to their noticeable growth. This is the most realized and accessible the band have been to date.

As an appetizer to hold over fans until his album drops this summer, Dark Lane Demo Tapes serves its purpose. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but that doesn't matter. This album is a hit, whether you like it or not.

It's another album of Neil being Neil, and that's a good thing.

It comes as no surprise then that Megadeth, like so many of those latter-day albums, is an uneven affair, front-loaded with its best material in the time-honoured tradition — but when it's good, it's good.

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 includes a few pop gems, but as an album, it pales in comparison to its older sibling.

Eight months on, Unknown Mortal Orchestra return with Blue Record, a chilled acoustic EP that grooves down and quietly electrifies.

He's Got the Whole This Land Is Your Land in His Hands is a minor gem in the Joan of Arc discography, as Kinsella gives listeners more simply by pulling back.

CLB is a serviceable enough Drake album, but he has a number of prior projects that showcase his dynamic rap abilities and frenemy quarrels at a much higher calibre.

That's part of what makes Sorry 2 so much fun: it's inconsistent, flailing and completely unpredictable.

By the end of the project, Quavo Huncho begins to feel more like a mixtape, with Quavo popping out to add a few unenergetic verses and repetitive adlibs rather than a strong solo debut. Quavo Huncho's individual features provide more of a draw than every solo track combined, proving that Quavo still needs some time to grow and develop as a solo artist.

Six Cups is a "fun" record, sounding less serious in melody and experimentation than Lindstrøm's previous work, but it was undoubtedly crafted with the intentions of being taken equally seriously

Innocents contains some great vocal performances and catchy hooks, and despite the tent ropes being held down by the weight of mediocrity, it'll please many Play-era Moby fans and radio listeners as ideal background music for patio conversations about how their stocks are performing.

The narrative isn't particularly groundbreaking; it tells the story of escaping a bad relationship, falling in love with someone else and then torpedoing it with his libido. Ne-Yo's MJ-indebted falsetto does deliver some highlights on the album.

Essentially, Yukon Blonde sound like a new band, and they may just be your new favourite because of it.

A Pill for Loneliness is another strong effort from City and Colour. It finds Green continuing to play to his strengths and continuing to move City and Colour's sound into new territory at an assured, steady pace.

When he calls the 92-piece orchestra in, the results are mixed.

While not every track bangs, the three managed to create a fairly strong record.

Satellite Flight: The Journey to the Mother Moon occupies a space between what is and what's coming, but Kid Cudi's admired originality falls short and is almost lackluster here in comparison to his previous works.

Thematic and cohesive, Supermoon eschews the scattered folk of his LPs for an attentive, intimate perspective on some old tracks that should tide fans of Carey over until his next proper record.

Jackie is unlikely to vault Ciara into the stratosphere, but it's a solidly produced effort that features an artist comfortable with who she is both privately and as an artist.

A Better Tomorrow never really coalesces into a satisfying whole.

An immersive and atmospheric sonic experience, one made all the better by the group's much-improved songwriting chops.

For fans of Animal Collective's trippier inclinations, Tangerine Reef is a pleasant bit of oceanic escapism. For new listeners or anyone looking for the next "My Girls," this is decidedly inessential.

Love is the Great Rebellion shows more of Ben Lee's spiritual growth than musical growth, so fans who were attached to the more adventurous departures of his recent work may be disappointed here, but those still clapping along to "Catch My Disease" and "Begin" will surely find comfort in the album.

If the record's volume number wasn't enough to suggest that Lil Wayne's long-running Dedication mixtape series was getting a little stale, a few short verses into this repetitive and lyrically lazy affair should definitely set those thoughts in motion.

Jay-Z co-opts and redefines current trends to reassert his ongoing cultural potency.

Although decidedly a step up from their last effort, the sloppy and forgetful Sidewalks, Lightning still finds the duo stuck in the same routine.

While it's a great attempt at a first album, Pick a Piper's tune could have been a bit sweeter.

Budding doubt punctures even the first song, "You didn't love me anyway"s filling its final minute. The rest of the album is spent in the reality of the aftermath: that endings don't actually end, they stick, no matter how far Soldevila tries to fling them.

A Head Full of Dreams might have been a poptimist masterpiece. Instead, it's just another Coldplay album, with all the baggage--both positive and negative--that entails.

The only trouble is that nearly every track captures the same sense of John Hughes-worthy nostalgia, with no cut standing out above the rest.

Though certainly not as compelling as Vile's more recent work, the Jamaica Plain EP is worth a listen if only to dig deeper into the musical past of one of modern indie-rock's most celebrated performers.

The 14 songs clock in at only 34 minutes, so Killing Time never overstays its welcome, giving you that caffeine-type pick-me-up so few indie pop albums offer these days.

To put it into perspective, if By the Hedges was Minks channelling Joy Division, Tides End is more New Order ("Doomed and Cool," quite literally), in both its disposition and potentail to reach a wider audience.

Although Jimmy Edgar isn't the first (or best) to do neo-electro (Chromeo and DāM-FunK come to mind), Majenta shows that he might just be the most believable.

DJ Khaled knows how to produce a hit with any number of artists, but his 2019 effort could have used some more growth like Asahd.

It's clear the Blaze are still passionate about the music they make, so listeners looking for an album full of songs like their earlier material are sure to be satisfied. Those looking for adventurousness and growth may not find all that they're looking for.

Songs like "How Will I Get Through This One," "If You Ever Have Forever In Mind" and "I'm Pretty Sure That's What's Killing Me" are good, but not in a "tour de force, let's re-introduce the band to a whole new generation with some familiar, but next level stuff"-type of way.

If they dropped the ambitious approach of 15 tracks and stuck with the most notable eight or nine, Let's Go Sunshine might have been a bit more consistent and interesting.

Too often, the album is weighed down by pedantic, average beats and too many run of the mill guest verses, indicating Meth's generosity is a bit of a weakness. Ultimately, it dilutes The Meth Lab's potency.

The band's decision to eschew their trademark orchestration in favour of a more synth-driven sound was, sadly, a mistake.

Like many bands with a "core" attached to their sub-genre, Emmure are adept at making every song into an almost continuous, ferocious breakdown and it's a formula that keeps the album's momentum at its peak at all times.

There's relatively no atmosphere and groove this time around, and many of the songs seem forced, as if he's tried to ensure this one goes mainstream.

The Replacements were so luminescent because they played their bizarre, specific brand of rock for the kids at the front, all snot, spit and sweat. In trying so blatantly to recapture that magic, The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City can't help but feel like a lot of smoke and mirrors.

As you can imagine, BE doesn't tread any new ground sonically, but for fans of the group, and likely Beady Eye themselves, it's a welcome distraction as we wait patiently for an Oasis reunion.

Soul Clap lay down some of the richest Boston, vocal-rich house on this record.

Too often the band fall prey to the conventions of the music from which they're borrowing.

Mixed with poppy tracks like "Top of the World," "Pressure" and Michael Jackson meets Hall and Oates ditty "Ain't No Hat 4 That," it's evident that Thicke has created his most fun and mainstream-friendly project yet.

Unsurprisingly, the tracks that feature Redway's voice chopped and sampled and without straight lyrics, "Beseech" and "Extract," are the most satisfying ones on the album. These two tracks point to the duo's real potential.

Unfortunately, the lack of quality choruses leaves something to be desired.

While Dope Don't Sell Itself does not inspire immediate playback like Chainz's last outing, So Help Me God!, and doesn't contain the breakout hits of 2017's acclaimed Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, it is a testament to the rapper's longevity and his vital role in ATL's shifting scene as a gravitational figure for all to aspire to become.

The results sound predictably off-the-cuff, and several tracks like "Jaw Dropper" and "I've Got Money On My Mind" sound like little more than microphone level checks. But when Williams decides to say something meaningful, as on "Dirt," "A Good Day To Feel Bad" and the title track, his sage-like delivery is as devastating as ever.

Commerce is pulling more gears than art here. Simply skip the lows and ride the highs. Because when Khaled does hit, it can still be fun as hell, like gorging on popcorn and 'splosions.

This is a record bursting with indecision and excess, but that excess is revealing; we're shown more of Shania's emotion than ever here. It's enough to make Now one of the best pop albums of the year.

While their approach is a little aggressive at times, making it a little too much to take in at once, Glitterbug is full of tracks that prove there's no reason not to indulge in it.

Pink Floyd's final farewell doesn't deliver anything particularly unfamiliar to those acquainted with the Gilmour years. However, The Endless River serves its purpose as well as a collection of unreleased material can--it remembers an integral band member while reflecting on past glories in a reserved, respectable fashion.

Although its brighter moments ("Adam and Eve," "Cops Shot the Kid") save it from being a complete fall from grace, overall Nasir is disappointingly heedless. Hopefully his next effort is more honest.

While the layers of oddball narrative that Black brings to the table help distinguish it, aesthetically it's at least five years too late and feels like something aimed squarely at hip, divorced dads.

For Professional Use Only's long run time and failure to effectively sequence and transition between instrumentals for a more cohesive experience hamper its impact on the casual listener.

Even though their unique music production always nudges musical boundaries, Can't Say I Ain't Country attempts to knock down musical barriers by affixing a fresh glow on past country music trends.

Evolution certainly doesn't sound like anything they've done before. At best, Evolution could add a few more bangers to their roster and slip by unnoticed. At worst, it could knock the band down to Creed levels of self-parody.

Anxiety, anguish and unrest can often produce great art, but so can spiritual harmony. It's just a shame that in the case of Turnover, contentment sounds so bland.

Indicud won't work for everyone, but if you're a Cudi fan, this album finds him sounding better than he has in some time.

Masquerading as a complement to SYRE, ERYS is a near replica of Jaden's previous effort, whose similarities run too close to repetition to make a true impact. The four-song arc that introduces the album (the "PINK" to SYRE'S "BLUE") doesn't quite hold the same ingenuity the second time around.

Free Spirit is Khalid's coming-of-age story: it's well-constructed, but already feels too predictable at this point.

This revised version offers fans a chance to listen closely to those musical constructions, at their most skeletal, revealing an often wondrous gestation process: just one that never quite compares to its own final product.

Old Sock [is] a pleasant, but ultimately uninspired collection that ranges from country and folk standards such as "Born to Lose" and "Goodnight Irene" to the classic jazz of "All Of Me" and "Our Love is Here to Stay."

There is more introspection on display than usual, especially in the lyrics, but Hallelujah The Hills have simply grown into the band they always threatened to become.

It was always going to be tough for Dashboard Confessional to repeat what they were, but while maybe Crooked Shadows doesn't hit the heights that A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar did in 2003, it's still a welcome return.

The album offers a little something from every listener, which includes pop-centric songs ("Shrine") bass-heavy bangers ("Era"), an anthemic ballad ("Atoms") and one pleasantly surprising ambient interlude ("Run For Your Life").

Hexed is better than its predecessor, I Worship Chaos, and certainly marks one of Bodom's better efforts of late. Old-school fans and newbies alike will be sure to find enjoyable aspects, but will quickly figure out which songs to omit when crafting their next workout playlists.

Despite 7 not being a fantastic project by any measure, the EP proves that Lil Nas X isn't a one-hit wonder and can find longevity in his career as long as he continues to show off his versatility.

Head Up High satisfyingly winds itself from one song to another, yet lacks a bit of overall "oomph"; it also sounds as if it could have been made ten years ago.

It all adds up to a deeply felt, personal album that, like his previous work, should serve as the perfect soundtrack to many a late-night contemplation hour.

18 Months has all the makings of a smash hit, but if you're looking for substance, you're better off looking elsewhere.

No Pier Pressure throws out that decade and a half worth of good will by doing the exact opposite, stacking the record with guest stars like Nate Ruess and Kacey Musgraves and "updating" Wilson's compositions with heaps of undercooked stylistic diversions.