Filled mostly with retro-cheese instrumentals with a smattering of blue-eyed vocal performances, Weird Drift explores the stranger aspects of love and devotion.

Pattern of Excel shows the latest brilliant incarnation of an artist who's sure to have many in the years to come.

Dave Harrington's group stay in the realm of cinematic mood-scapes and atmospheres for the most part, despite some of their free-jazz inclinations.

Written by a person whose conscience seems to keep him from having too much fun, Hard Love is a conflicted yet summarily good record that breathes new life into good ol' rock'n'roll.

Time 'n' Place is challenging, but its rewards are commensurate, and while the band may lose some of their more fickle fans with this release, it's always refreshing to see artistic growth put first, especially when it pays off like this.

Occasionally on Wallop, !!! sound either too world-weary or too committed to being incendiary to relay ideas relevant to listeners. But at their best, the band maintain their convictions about privilege, power and culture and present them as defiant, monumental tracks.

Martin cedes more of the spotlight to Brickell than ever, his strumming always sturdily present but rarely showy.... But Brickell also brings out the best in Martin, revealing his subtlest strengths.

It all taps deeply into different veins of pop, yet it's gloriously synergetic in the incredible world created by Prince Rama.

For a 13-track album, the majority is forgettable and doesn't live up to the colourful elements of Lewis's previous releases. The lack of energy on Caer leaves a longing for more originality and creativity he has once given us.

Fourth album Mirage Rock is a bungled mess of poor production and half-assed songwriting.

Braxton truly has created his own sonic alphabet here, and has employed it to draft a manuscript that is as sincere as it is creative.

Bazan doesn't disappoint on this mini full-length and though he doesn't wow at first either, Blanco is meditative, and moves more slowly than other entries in the artist's discography. It requires, and deserves, an attentive and patient ear.

Recorded in France and produced by Frames guitarist David Odlum, this is expertly crafted and lushly arranged folk-rock, with some pretty fabulous horns.

Beach Fossils have found a balance that's better than anyone could have hoped for.

The problem isn't with Carnation's expansive instrumental palette, but with the way that the record struggles to use its sounds to captivate, often letting each part float away into the ether.

Despite its brisk pacing, Starz still suffers from bloat. Songs like "Iceheart," "Dance in the Dark," and "My Agenda" could have been left off the track list and made the album more coherent and enjoyable to experience.

Longwave channels the low-key indie pop sound of (Sandy) Alex G and Frankie Cosmos. Bonny Doon have proven their ability to transform their complex songwriting and vivid melodies into experiences that resemble those long hours of elusive conversations we crave.

With We Are Undone, Two Gallants have created an album that is enviable in its quality and consistency.

On Big Boat, their rambling new album, veteran producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed) does his best to emphasize the band's considerable knack for genre-bending exercises.

There's a handful of above-average tunes here, and an earnestness that suggests Harry Styles will have a fruitful solo career.

It will undoubtedly take some time for fans of the band's earlier work to get acquainted with the stylistic shift, though A Perfect Circle's messaging might have benefited more from sounds tried and true.

At its best, Somewhere Else produces a few tracks worthy of putting on and dancing to in the middle of the night. At its worst, it's repetitive material that should've stayed on the cutting room floor.

Tracks like the rambling "Old Things," the hoedown-lite "Bluebird" and perhaps the most precious song about outlaw life, "Private Property," shoot for middle-of-the-road appreciation, sucking out any grit from the recording.

For a stopgap collaboration, Underrated Silence sits comfortably with some of Schnauss's best work.

What this trio from Philadelphia, PA are offering, in spite of their rough-hewn hipster image, is nothing new and can be traced back to Barenaked Ladies through Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash and even the Kingston Trio.

Siggelkow's Born Again is fearlessly exposed, touching on emotions in the most direct way — an infectious, wondrous full-length debut for Ellis.

On SUM/ONE, DeGraw avoids the trappings many first-time solo artists fall to, leaving the listener with a collection of songs that manages to exude its own indispensable personality while staying true to Gang Gang Dance's wild and wooly origin story.

The EP is good but not great. Diplo missed an opportunity to explore a variety of emerging EDM genres, instead releasing a slew of tracks that bang hard but fail to resonate.