Once you get through "The End" (which is actually near the beginning)--with a barrage of cymbals care of Brian Blade--Flesh And Machine is a relatively subdued affair.

Ricky Music shows a different side to Porches as an artist that we haven't seen before; it may be more produced and heavily Auto-Tuned, which takes away from his strong vocals, but it's refreshing to hear a new side to Porches.

Mark Kozelek is a skeletal record, composed almost exclusively with guitar loops and vocals tracks, designed to serve as a vehicle for his diary-like lyrics. Some may argue that Kozelek aims for quantity over quality, while others wait attentively for his next correspondence.

Here they are with the emotionally eloquent Spin, rejuvenated and sounding just as good as a duo as they ever did as a quintet.

There's nothing super memorable about this record, nor is there anything horribly offensive about it either. Ultimately, ACR Loco doesn't match A Certain Ratio's past glories, but it doesn't erase their legacy either.

On Crooked Doors, the music is given ample space to breath, giving it a progressive edge. All told, it's a huge leap forward for Royal Thunder.

On A Lesson Unlearnt, the insights on love are articulated both from the position of the one being sought and the one seeking affection, offering an entry point for anyone who can identify with love's effects.

Opting to work with four different producers led the band to a wide variety of sounds on Morning Report, and while that will be a sticking point for some listeners, the record shows they're far from content in solely making plays towards accessibility.

High Plains perfectly capture the rugged and sprawling Midwest, but more impressively, an intangible mood and state of mind. A record like this is a rare achievement.

The added lyrical depth takes Optimal Lifestyles from just another party record to a genuine reflection on living life one six-pack at a time.

It's not a complete return to form, but it's a reminder that even later in the journeys, all-time greats' talent and dedication to their craft can still yield impressive results.

The track list moves like grief itself, with a glimmer of hope before plunging back into darkness and hurt. But, as Green does so well, each track is buoyed by his smooth voice, full of emotion, and poetic lyrics that can somehow perfectly capture every sentiment.

Untogether does manage to lose its grip on your attention, at times, falling back on a bit of redundancy, but when it takes hold, it grabs you by the ears and fills them with a wistfulness that haunts you for days.

Much of Waltzed in From the Rumbling's success lies in Plants and Animals' ability to look both inside and outside of their musical sphere, incorporating strings, choir vocals and found sounds while possessing the insight and musical acuity to make it all feel organic.

The risk of keeping things breezy is that tracks can often lack weight.

"Black Health," "Sober-delic," "Edgar the Elephant" and "Cardboa Negro" are the most compelling tracks, showcasing a midtempo churn where McDonald's rock'n'roll pedigree really shines. ... Despite the presence of these successes, Death still sounds like a band treading water.

The 18-song offering is a cohesive masterpiece.

Woman is confident and captivating, and like their debut before it, demands attention.

It's apparent that these newcomers certainly have their ears wide open, reimagining everything they rebroadcast.

Most songs fall into well-worn territory about young love and teenage politics, while there's sameness to too many of the songs. But when it works, and it often does, their charms are undeniable.

The best moments here are either instrumental or wordless, when Coyne's voice--which, though never technically impressive, always fit perfectly with each album's sound, whether it was the ragged bombast of their Soft Bulletin-era epics or the hushed haunt of The Terror--becomes a whispering (or even whistling) texture. Lyrically, though, Coyne appears to have exhausted any last nuggets of profundity he once had.

Cry will make you cry, because Gonzalez knows what he's doing. It's cathartic, stunning, it'll awaken your senses and it's not to be missed.

Forcefield strips down the Tokyo formula to its most basic components of guitar riffing, a strong sense of melody and a brilliant ear for unforgettable hooks, which has birthed some of their finest work yet.

A solid listen front to back, Freedom is the album fans have been waiting for.

The tracks are far from filler; they're a revealing look at where the band find themselves creatively at the moment.

With every moment on Internationally Unknown I find odd, I ask myself "was that intentional?" Because I usually have no idea. ... Internationally Unknown is fun and probably not intended to be examined too far past the surface.

On Days of Abandon, the Pains continue to demonstrate why they've been able to find this sweet spot that so many bands strive for.

Oblique's songs are intricately woven into a dark, discordant tapestry, alternating between longer, more atmospheric songs and straight-up destructive doom.