While Daddy's Home may not be her best record, it's a bold and rewarding one.

The artistically revelatory voyage into Droog's at-times nostalgic, at-times comically bizarre world proves well worth the 40-minute trip.

With Memory, it's apparent that Lazer Sword have toiled over the big picture, leaving little room for twelve-inch singles, all the while crafting an absorbing full-listen.

The most striking aspect of Asiatisch is the confidence of Al Qadiri's sound, demonstrating that the quality of her music has finally caught up with her artistic ambitions.

Personal tumult is not an unusual topic for an album, especially by someone in their 20s, but McMahon's sharp lyrical phrases and outstanding voice are enough to make Salt a fresh and exhilarating debut.

With Older, McAlpine enters a new era of her career, armed with bluesy seventh chords and simple rhythms. She's done the work; she's done the soul-searching; she's done the meticulous labour of shaving her thoughts down to their purest, most authentic truths. Consider the ceiling of her last album cycle shattered.

Pale Horses compiles all of the strengths of mewithoutYou into a gorgeous, dense package that remains engaging throughout.

Nausea is the perfect lazy summer album with a hidden depth that slowly unfolds to reveal a work of sincere beauty.

The cozy impressions brought to mind both by Scott's music and the image of him at work in his Asheville refuge are also set against some relatively dark themes.

Combining the passionate onslaught of hardcore with a reasonable portion of grunge and radio-ready power pop, the New York group's cynical punk tone often feels effortless. If you're just hearing of Drug Church or weren't sold on their two prior works, now's the time to stay for a sermon.

On Black Metal, Blunt's style is still very difficult to classify, yet a hint more inviting and amicable than his last.

The atmosphere of Lo Moon, which melds gloom with instrumental experimentation and a welcome pop sensibility, has gifted listeners with a record that stands apart. It's got a glow all its own.

They have made their most consistent release yet, stretching the earworm-y catchiness their album Weeds employed.

The arrangements are beautiful, borderline orchestral, and contribute to an expanding Horse Feathers soundscape. While the mood that Ringle is trying to strike with these ten tracks belies easy definition, what's clear is that Horse Feathers are forging a new way forward.

On THR!!!ER, !!! have finally found a happy medium between playful and goofy, epic and bloated, tongue-in-cheek and just plain chic.

On In Sickness & in Flames, the Front Bottoms decided to let their stream of consciousness dictate the majority of the 12 songs on this album, it's harder to decipher what many of them even mean. It's infuriating, but that's what also why band has such a dedicated fanbase.

The result is a far livelier and live-sounding album than one would expect from a group this deep into their career.

Here, she moves through songs about love and life that, whether because of the cavernous, sometimes tinny production or her timeless songwriting style (and often, both), feel channelled from some ghostly past where musical arrangement was simpler but emotions weren't.

With every moment of unflinching social commentary, the Linda Lindas let listeners in to the smouldering embers of youthful promise we all have before the weight of the world eventually crushes our spirit.

On the spooky, very unorthodox The Southern Surreal, Legendary Shack Shakers have successfully brewed styles to create an album that is undeniably fascinating.

World Eater matches its brutal releases with hope and luminosity. It's a radical, adventurous exploration--and celebration--of the relationship between darkness

SABLE, fABLE won't just make your head bob — it'll also make you excited for Bon Iver's next inevitable curveball.

The recording savvy of producer Kyle Gilbride of Swearin' helps sharpen the band's jagged edges and gets them to sound truly potent, playing through each one-minute tune like they were running out of studio time.

With a fine balance of clean singing between Scabbia and Ferro, atop the technicality of strings and beats, there's something for everyone.

Virgin is the kind of album that makes you realize something you hadn't really before: until now, Lorde was operating at an emotional distance. .... Virgin feels like a rebirth.

Just consider it a solid project from an artist who, after creating albums since the late-90s, is finally getting her recognition in front, instead of behind the curtain.

Fans of previous Boys Noize release Oi Oi Oi will be pleased to find the elements that made that record so vital are still present.

It's too familiar-sounding to be revelatory, but six years on from A Moon Shaped Pool — the longest-ever break between Radiohead albums — it's a pleasure to hear Yorke and Greenwood's talent undiminished as they hit the sweet spot of their sound.