The vocal delivery throughout (care of guitarist Woody Weatherman and bassist Mike Dean) is pretty weak, especially compared to Pepper's attention-commanding style, and that, combined with a somewhat jarring mix of fast punk, smothering, Sabbath-ian metal and good-ol'-boy Southern rock, just whets the appetite for the return of Pepper and the big rock.

Mac Miller emphatically joins a higher tier of rap artists with Watching Movies, an effort that at once silences his detractors and rewards his faithful following.

Mountain Man cling to the ordinary, but are able to make it extraordinary.

Hazy slacker rock with catchy melodies and psych-y breakdowns, Melt the Honey is a warm, raw album that invites reflection without judgement.

The result is a dozen highly listenable songs that don't sound like anything else in the world of rock music right now.

Powers has found the perfect balance between melodic sounds and a darker aesthetic, making his new creative endeavours come more into focus.

Hints of the album's atypicality are apparent from its opening minutes, for better or worse. "Falling Back" makes for a questionable lead-off, as Drake's falsetto has never been particularly strong, but Honestly, Nevermind rarely falters from there.

This odd, emotionally varied collection of songs embraces the fluidity of sexuality and gender, yet acknowledges that finding a stable, strong connection with another person remains an anxiety-inducing task.

The sparse chug of "Defector/ed" and the dirge-y mantra of "A Ceiling Dreams of a Floor" reflect the rough-hewn elegance of the duo's raw musical material.

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

Weber's creative theoretical and instrumental approach is unique, but the abrasive and connotative tonal qualities of the carillon often overshadow the colourful subtleties of the finer details of his delicate arrangements.

This Working Girl's Guitar is in top form here.

There's nothing necessarily at fault about borrowing so heavily from the past — these sounds are, after all, classic for a reason and it's true that Starcrawler conjure them expertly and deftly. The most memorable moments of the record, though, are those when Starcrawler distinguish their work from the giants before them, sketching out instead their own growing sense of self.

This is well worth having for fans that have worn out Mare or Terra, despite the fact that the immersive, soothing qualities that balanced the angularity on his previous releases have been ditched in favour of often shrill, jarring timbres.

Designed for finding communion with others while staying true to oneself, I Hear You touches the timeless with an ethos of openness, striking a vibrant and dynamic balance between familiarity and freshness.

Ultima II Massage marks a fresh direction for this always-challenging supervillain.

On Visibility is a Trap, Dalhous deliver another handful of terrific dark ambient music that will hopefully give way to braver, newer waves.

VII: Sturm und Drang is the album that almost wasn't, but it's worth celebrating for the album that it is: another solid addition to the Lamb of God catalogue.

After challenging themselves on Whorl, Simian Mobile Disco push their craft as far as their comfort level will allow on Welcome to Sideways.

While some of this album's material might seem pretentious or esoteric, Amidon's strengths--his musicianship, rustic voice and taste for innovative arrangements--still shine through.

Sensorimotor as a whole isn't as strong as Lusine's previous efforts for Ghostly International.

This is business as (un)usual for one of indie rock's greatest experimental institutions, to be sure.

Overall, The Triad is a satisfying reminder that Pantha Du Prince is still the best at what he does.

Though radically different in execution, The Powers That B is a compelling look at the band's ability to work with sounds both minimal and monumental, while containing some of their most riveting lyrical and musical work in recent memory.

Toeing a line both musically and lyrically between the darkness and the dance floor, Days Gone By is perhaps best enjoyed in the later hours, whether you're in your own head or out of it.

No Hard Feelings isn't quite ground-breaking, but it's an exciting step forward from Dreezy's previous project, Schizo.

Post-rock, grunge, hardcore, noise-rock; it's all fair game in the eyes of Big Ups, and this album is all the better for it.

There's literally no other band that could handle this heady material with such confidence and ease, and Rhyton sound like they love every second of it.