The MSTRKRFT formula of tight, catchy loops remains unchanged after all--they've just gotten a lot darker.

All in all, there's ample material on here for fans, even if Mount Ninji lacks a lot of the bite that made albums like Ten$ion and Donker Mag so fresh and exhilarating.

Immaculately produced and performed, it's hard to imagine Man of the Woods not being a hit, its tracks a steady stream for playlist fodder. But sound and feel are no substitute for soul.

Across the record's 12 tracks, Lavigne tries on a variety of styles, inhabiting each with ease, but rarely manages to rise above and make the sound her own.

Levi hasn't exactly grown with each and every album, and his wheel spinning has gotten the better of him again, because, apart from a couple of catchy tunes, Medicine isn't very exciting.

2 Chainz's debut album is a triumph on so many levels.

Tend No Wounds sounds very much like a transitional record, one foot firmly planted in the tar pit of their sludge roots while the other steps forward into a more punk-influenced, high-energy hard rock mode, and this liminality leads to moments of awkwardness.

Montana's selection of trap beats falls flat. It's the kind of sweatshop beat-making mainstream producers have learned to accept as they cash their cheques.

One wonders what could have happened if Moroder explored a little more, rather than playing it safe.

The music lacks the sheer immensity that must have graced it originally, as it's virtually impossible to recreate something so grand at home.

Excellent production by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) at his Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, FL takes Conceived in Sewage to a higher level of eviscerating brutality.

Aoki initially carved a niche with this sound, but we have to wonder when a progression from the safety of this oversaturated market will eventually occur.

While his intentions may have been pure, Snoop's attention to the assembling of this album needed a little more love.

In so far as 'vibes' and 'moods' become more important in hip-hop, Nav captures the feeling of boredom exceptionally well. Surrounding himself with hip-hop's most superficial, NAV somehow manages to represent even less.

The tracks are well-produced, but lack the soul to make a deep enough impact.

Blacc Hollywood, an LP titled like it might bring some overarching theme, is the audio equivalent of the Transformers quadrilogy: a series of in-your-face, mass-appeal blockbusters that lure crowds and teach them nothing.

A mostly forgettable but sometimes good album.

Corny super group-nostalgia act trying to live up to the untouchable legacy of the members' previous bands? Or timely, and much-needed visceral response to trying times? It depends on your outlook. Prophets of Rage might not be the rap-rock group we need, but maybe they're the one we deserve.

The sparse "Phone Tap" tells a tale of drug dealing paranoia, while the Big K.R.I.T.-assisted "Brimstone" is a remorseful hymnal. These moments are still few and far between, and the rest of Ross' tales of pushing fall short of revealing whether his ascent to boss status is factual or purely fictional.

As a standalone collection of songs, the Aladdin LP doesn't reach the heights of his recent recorded output, but it's an interesting companion piece that will please the Green faithful and fans of the film

It could have been much better. Kanye's foray into gospel should have been a heavenly experience, but it's half-baked, incoherent and ultimately falls short of godly.

Ultimately, Wiped Out! comes off as a "see what sticks" effort; it's slick and polished, but hits varying levels of satisfaction throughout.

Weezer's latest is an utterly skippable collection that'd be entirely unremarkable if not for the fact it was released by Weezer.

The Diplo-directed record is a somewhat sloppy mish-mash of reggae cuts that rarely attain an authentic air.

Despite poor production choices and lazy song structures, Pop Smoke's energy and solo spurts of brilliance won't allow for this stale posthumous release to tarnish his legacy.

Though its creation process was an overarching performative event in itself, Ye still managed to (for the most part) control his narrative, and deliver his best body of work in recent memory. It's just hard not to think that some trimming and sequencing tweaks could have made this LP that much greater and his message that much more poignant.

Animal Ambition showcases a very creatively confused 50 Cent, trapped in some sort of musical purgatory we can only hope he find his way out of.

It isn't inherently bad, but it isn't great either.