There's rebirth in the swirl of destruction, but these days the Yeah Yeah Yeahs seem more interested in the stories that start after the cataclysm, where purple fireweed bursts from scorched hillsides and glass shards are rounded by the tides.

The songwriting is tighter, the hooks stickier and the production crisper as they twist buzzy guitar hooks and driving, rudimentary drum machine beats into seven-minute jams.

This is music made for dancers (and highly dextrous ones at that).

There are enough great moments, such as "Why Are You With Me" and "All My Love," to make this his strongest solo record in quite a while, but it is still far from his best work.

Sequencing issues aside, the strength of Paris' production is the biggest standout aspect of the project. If the years spent between releases had anything to do with making sure the beats were adequately rendered, those were years well spent.

Although Tycho and company seemingly recycle a few ideas on Awake, it's a rewarding, mood-inducing listen that's best digested whole.

On Vapor City, Machinedrum steers clear of dramatic style makeovers, opting to focus on sharpening his craft while leaving the listener with a collection of songs that operates on pure magnetism and unbridled confidence.

Even when Wavves tread some familiar territory, the nine-song album is so short and peppy that it whooshes by like a refreshing ocean breeze.

Estoile Naiant works as a satisfying continuation of patten's work, albeit one that moves his sound in a sideways direction.

Though Edge of the Sun is a very good record by any measure, there is something about it all that feels frustratingly routine.

A Beach House record is best experienced like a shooting star, thrilling for its relative scarcity and singular propulsion. Once Twice Melody feels more like a sunset than a shot of light from the universe's depths — magnificent and enormous, yes, but also familiar.

The result doesn't sound bad; at worst, a few of the tracks are forgettable. But beneath the carefully roughed-up veneer, there's some depth and nuance missing.

Instead of cowering, Behemoth have triumphantly returned with characteristic ugliness and chaos, though this is skillfully juxtaposed with a newfound delicacy.

Bring Me The Horizon have crafted an album that, while not as post-rock-influenced as hinted at, is definitely post-Bring Me The Horizon, at least as we once knew them.

Midnights is a slow-burning journey through the labyrinth of Swift's history, groping around in the dim light for the way forward. Sometimes, in the hush of nightfall, catharsis comes quietly.

This isn't an album of contrasts but a vibe to get immersed in, and it's a welcome reminder of what once made Rose one of the key figures in indie rock.

While Jonson may not take any big swings on Her Blurry Pictures, he does provide enough patient acid flourishes, nimble bass lines and restrained, yet forceful percussion to draw you into his new world view.

The Calgary-born singer and songwriter showcases an even wider palette on her debut full-length, Sound Of A Woman.

Dead Start Program as another dependable collection of quality techno that will satisfy his fan base, even if it fails to bring in new ears.

Each song on The Bad Testament sounds old, yet somehow unfamiliar, a portrait of the outlaw country bad boy as an old man.

While not a classic, Sex & Cigarettes is a solid effort from R&B's true queen of heartbreak.

Most of the tracks allow room to breathe before going into a freefall decent of multi-influenced experimentation. Often times it's a rather subtle marriage of jazz and hip-hop ("That Don't Make It So"), gospel and funk ("Time and Place"), soul and folk ("Goodbye Reason, Goodbye Rhyme").

The good easily outweighs the bad on Advancement, and at its best, it's excellent. The pair have a knack for dynamism that keeps things interesting, and their production style has a compelling crunchiness to it that manages to sound modern without laying on the sheen.

When it starts, the overt prettiness and ornate, layered arrangements are very reminiscent of Owen Pallett, but very soon it veers of in some lovely tangents, although it inevitably comes back to string-laden, experimental pop.

Over the three-song run of "Alfred's Theme" (which jacks Charles Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," best known as the theme music to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to delirious effect), "Tone Deaf," and "Book of Rhymes" (which climaxes with a flurry of DJ Premier scratches), Slim Shady stuffs more rewind-worthy punchlines and flow variations than most rappers will deliver in a whole career. ... Other attempts feel more forced. ... More compelling are the two tracks produced by D.A. Got That Dope.

While the constant need for creative freedom and instrumental variety means that Drunk Tank Pink begins to meander towards the record's back end, a handful of sprawling epics showcase Shame's enviable talent for vivid storytelling.

While fans of the show will certainly get extra layers of inference out of Dethalbum III, the most amazing thing about it is, all on its own, it stands as a hilarious and skilful example of the genre.

Despite its occasional low points, Meatbodies have created a wonderfully weird and spooky world with Alice, filled with monsters, magic and lots of fuzz.