It's a traveller's record, but not one for the wide-eyed, "wanderlusting" tourist; rather, it's one for the detached and disoriented, Bill-Murray-in-Lost-in-Translation voyager. It hits this note strikingly, but it's a shame about the sonic mishmash.

This is an inspired album and potential goldmine of samples for future generations.

The songs don't hit quite as hard or as immediately as that high watermark [Celebration Rock]. But there's also nothing to suggest that Japandroids couldn't have carried on, dropping albums when they had material, touring when it suited their schedules.

Much of Principe's second half finds him repackaging the first half with plodding disco beats that make the initially exciting melodies seem boring the second (and third, and fourth) time around.

Everyday Robots is a graceful and beguiling album from an artist that continues to explore, mature and surprise us with each release. Not bad for a debut album.

[Kwes delivers] poignant wanderings from within his inner-monologue, while voicing a soul-expanding sound that makes James Blake's noir&B cool seem like nothing more than ostentatious art school assignments.

The first record without co-founder and lead guitarist Matt Mondanile, who left last year to focus on his Ducktails project, it finds the band struggling to find their footing in his absence.

III is a record that fluctuates between the joyous and the melancholy over and over, making those many contrasts of dark and light all the more impactful.

Skullcrusher's debut points to Helen Ballentine's undeniable skills, particularly as a melodist. A bit more distancing from popular templates, however, may have served to further distinguish her work from that of her abovementioned contemporaries.

It's the musical equivalent of a thrilling roller coaster ride through a hellish landscape, injecting a much-needed dose of fun in otherwise dark days.

The emotions that are being expressed feel lived-in and deeply personal while remaining open to listener interpretations.

As with all successful concept albums, its individual songs work as well independently as they do as a whole. It's depth shrouded in mischief, and it's proof that King Gizzard have mastered creating music that's as heavy conceptually as it is sonically.

There's enough here to keep fans happy and even win a few more over in the process, but it's another mixed bag from a band that are easier to like than love.

Some songs stick to the usual anarchic ideas, "The Hanging Man" being a tasty cut worthy of inclusion on any forthcoming Best Of, but there are also introspective nightmare-lullabies like "Annaline," "Amnesia" and "Cathedrals of Heaven." ... Easygoing suits Gira.

While Swirlings creates an easy listening ambience with textures that assist in ethereal out-of-body mediations, there is little in the way of innovation, though the final track provides a contrasting tone from the relaxation pieces.

Although the band haven't really made a notable album since the close of the '70s, this ten-track, 42-minute LP stands as some of their most focused and stylish work to date.

Berberian Sound Studio is far from an essential album, but it's definitely a welcome surprise addition for fans of Broadcast, the movie itself or fans of Italian horror soundtrack artists such as Goblin.

The duo's 13th studio album, Super, will appeal to the cult following that's stuck with them over the years while reaffirming their continued relevance and influence.

Belief System should clearly have been released as two separate albums; one that's a candidate for album of the year and one that's completely forgettable.

It is the best electronic extrapolation of the beauty and subtlety of one of the world's great rhythm nations since Bill Laswell's Imaginary Cuba almost 15 years ago.

The tracks run long (nothing below four-and-a-half minutes), and the highlights come for those with patience (the album peaks, like Heritage did, in the latter half); Pale Communion is a grower.

We Come From The Same Place is a lyrical wonderland that keeps listeners exploring more with each listen. Indie-pop or not, it's infectious on many levels.

Pearson Sound is a primal collection of single-idea songs that, although fascinating, work best when your musical pretences are turned off.

There are plenty of moments worthy of headbanging throughout Hammer of the Witches, especially on "Blackest Magick in Practice." Unfortunately, they're too often interrupted by the album's half-baked sonic experiments.

Those familiar with Silver's work know he is fond of smaller-scale thematic/stylistic exercises like this, and on these grounds On Vacation succeeds nicely, but those looking for a bolder artistic statement may be disappointed by its conventionality.

Time will tell if A Million Dollars to Kill Me can match its predecessor--it hasn't quite for me--but its certainly another singular release in a career that's defined by them.

Many Moons is another deceptively simple, cohesive statement from an artist who is becoming more accomplished with each release.

The lyrics are still full of cutting observations and social critiques (take the anti-capitalism slant of "Corporate Elect," for example), but the urgency driving 2010's Absolute Dissent has shifted into something more akin to a sense of anticipation.