What we get on Psychedelic Pill are stream-of-consciousness attempts ("Driftin' Back"), along with musings on the grim reality of old age ("Ramada Inn") and the regrets that come with it ("Walk Like A Giant").

Apart from the uprated production, there's not a great deal to offer to listeners.

Arguably Cattle Decapitation's best offering to date, Monolith of Inhumanity is a dynamic record, with many different elements working together to create one cohesive, disgusting and brilliant release.

This is easily one of their best albums, which is no small feat six albums into such an illustrious career.

Disarm The Descent is at least twice as good as 2009's uninspired Killswitch Engage. Although it's not quite the masterful return to Alive or Just Breathing that Leach's reappearance had fans hoping for, it's still damn good.

There's no question Hero Brother is a tremendously accomplished series of recordings that hold together as a whole, but one also gets the sense of being at the beginning of a journey that could get better as the years go by.

Stalley showcases eclectic strengths on this release, but focus certainly isn't one of them.

Within its niche, it satisfies, but Homeboy Sandman's irrefutable skill level and work ethic deserves a bigger spotlight.

The tracks are of such quality, though, that their position as part of something larger is mostly irrelevant.

It's a diverse mixture of sounds delivered in a cohesive and well-arranged package.

That Age of Transparency feels less like the collection of singles Anxiety was and more like the cohesive, momentous artistic statement his best work always suggested he's capable of.

GLADYB doesn't really deviate from the path that was laid down by previous albums Lucky Shiner and Half of Where You Live, but--perhaps even more impressively--it stays decidedly on it, rounding out a beautiful trilogy of semi-danceable, definitely nod-able records. It may even be his best.

The Necks don't exactly break new ground with Unfold, but it's refreshing nonetheless to see that they're also not regressing--a small miracle for any band 30 years into their career.

All in all, Feel Infinite is vintage Jacques Greene, but you're never left feeling like you've heard it all before.

Twerp Verse is a solid entry that should please fans of Speedy Ortiz and might also gain them some new ones with its hints of pop.

DNA Feelings is unlikely to show up in any club sets. It is far too complex and unconventional. This is late-night, "visions of alchemy" stuff.

On his terrific sophomore record, Wall paints a portrait of a mythic Canadiana, a western region of lonesome plains and grizzled frontiersmen, of rodeos and gunfighters, of hardscrabble existences and unlucky bounces.

It's a rare moment of ambitious sprawl in an album that's otherwise lean, loud, and a no-nonsense celebration of Cloud Nothings' strengths.

The brevity and strong melodicism of these songs is of course reminiscent of Field Music's work, yet You Tell Me feels like both an extension of the eldest Brewis brother's songwriting and an assertion of Hayes' voice.

Having rediscovered his split-lipped humour, and working with simple, yet propulsive arrangements, this is a league leader back in game shape. ... It's a master class in country songwriting, a series of lessons about how to work the expected tropes into what feel like as-yet-undiscovered shapes.

Regardless of the song or sentiment, Finn's skill for detail never wavers. In that, I Need A New War ranks among his best.

The Get Up Kids have a talent for writing catchy and infectious hooks and choruses and it's what has kept them on the map for over two decades. Both old and newer fans will find songs they enjoy and hopefully never stop listening to on Problems.

Colorado makes good on Young's promise that rust never sleeps — turns out, it gets better with age.

What brings to life the often spacious, simple melodies is Chadwick's deft storytelling. Most evocative, perhaps, are the throwaway details she uses to colour her songs with lived experience.

It's upbeat, fashionable and sounds great in the background when you're only half paying attention. Rather than seizing his moment in the spotlight, Parker sounds like he's just enjoying the journey.

It's Bulat's fullest-sounding record to date, and really excels in its loudest and most playful moments.

There is very little melody on The Upward Spiral; the sounds are more like drilling, sawing or machines beeping than traditional instrumentation.

Seasoned hardcore listeners may not love this avant-garde approach, yearning instead for something in a similar vein of the breakdown-heavy Good to Feel, but CANDY still deliver a solid handful of unrelenting, uptempo jolts.