The only trouble is that nearly every track captures the same sense of John Hughes-worthy nostalgia, with no cut standing out above the rest.

Too often, it is more than halfway boring. It isn't uninspired or weakly performed. Rather, it is boring in spite of the overwhelming bombast, the booming bass and pounding drums, the huge vocals, the wailing guitars; it is boring because rather than electrifying you, it distances and anaesthetizes.... The good news is that those songs are, most of them anyway, pretty great.

It will always be a pleasure to hear Ritter's songs, to spend some time in his warm, rich universe. But he needs a new band, badly.

Breaking up the band's predictable metal onslaught is the mid-tempo stomp of "Morrigan," the slow-burning "Prayer for the Afflicted" and the ballad-esque "All for Nothing." While they're each a welcome reprieve from the sameness, these moments inadvertently temper any more chaos that could have perhaps been unleashed.

A raucous centrepiece it is not. A soundtrack for a nightcap alone though? Absolutely.

This record accomplishes what it sets out to do, engaging the listener with indisputably catchy moments, if a little inconsistently, throughout.

Throwaways make the ten-song album feel low on substantial ideas: there's enough material here for a solid EP, but it's rather thin for a full-length. Still, as a modestly enjoyable throwback to 2006, it gets the job done.

Strut of Kings requires more than just a first go-through, as much of the album could have benefitted from moving past the "first thought, best thought" rubric. Although it seems crazy to say, this is an actual Guided by Voices album that could have benefitted from an editor.

While Sex & Food is a disjointed effort with Nielson's usual ingenuity wavering at times, fans will undoubtedly find favourites in certain tracks. It's an anxious, up-and-down affair, with moments of reward sprinkled within its lethargic haze.

Scott's hedonistic lyrics about sex and drugs remain awfully vapid for what's been billed as a trap masterpiece (the utterly banal "SDP Interlude" takes the cake). ... Scott's strength, of course, continues to lie in his ear for beats, with part of his appeal being his ability to make songs with less than rewarding subject matter still sound cool.

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.

Reassemblage is compelling, sure, but perhaps only for those who have the patience or curiosity for an exploration of the sonic predecessors of electronica.

The indecisive saga of Soulfly continues: sometimes their albums are quite good, sometimes quite bad and sometimes, like this one, they're just in between, not leaving much of an impression at all.

Everett has always been loathe to stand in one place for too long so it's quite possible that we'll see yet another side of him in a matter of months. For now, The Deconstruction is a rather rote and lackluster return.

Masquerading as a complement to SYRE, ERYS is a near replica of Jaden's previous effort, whose similarities run too close to repetition to make a true impact. The four-song arc that introduces the album (the "PINK" to SYRE'S "BLUE") doesn't quite hold the same ingenuity the second time around.

Political music only works with a strong point of view, which MUNA lack on this record. That said, it has at least a couple niche hits to round out summer playlists and Pride party sets. Even without the depth, MUNA know how to please a crowd — but the impression is fleeting.

In some ways, it works; the songs on Mind of Mine certainly skew towards more mature content and a sleeker, less bubblegum-y pop sound that's implemented expertly by producer Malay on silky smooth PBR&B-lite ballads like "It's You." It works less well on cuts like Kehlani collaboration "Wrong," which is gratingly heavy-handed with the Auto Tune--a problem that again rears its whiny head on "Fool for You."

Presented as a new studio album, it only manages to recapture the band's spirit, rather than its soul.

The resultant album is cohesive, but slightly tiring; bogged down in ballad after ballad, all draped with the Weeknd's pretty but repetitive vibrato falsetto.

It's an album that sometimes benefits from its wealth of ideas but often finds itself trying to find its way back to a central one.

At times, the blend is less than palatable and, frankly, too busy, as on the title track. However, this franticness is occasionally contrasted by a song that manages to draw you in.

Likewise checks all the boxes of a "good" album, but it's also a bit boring. It's too much a showcase of Quinlan's lyrical acumen, which is incisive, but the record doesn't strike a visceral chord.

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.

It's evident that the two were having a good time recording Hokey Fright, and though the album isn't always successful, it's encouraging to see creative individuals ignore genre boundaries in order to bridge gaps.

If you can get past the haughty lyrics on "Fickle Sun (ii)," for instance, then its minimalist piano notes will surely impress. And yet, even that song's musicianship sounds downright conventional compared to preceding tracks "Fickle Sun (i)" and opening track "The Ship," a 21-minute composition that begins with solemn synth moans like a distant vessel's horn.

Unfortunately, there are a few too many moments with a "more is more" approach, and they hold the record back.

Aside from her moving rendition of little-known folk artist Zoe Mulford's "The President Sang Amazing Grace," Baez chooses songs that are close to her heart and represent her long journey, political struggles and ideals succinctly.

While the tension between live and synthetic elements is interesting to listen to, Homosapien lacks the kind of grand creative spark that's often born from this.