There's something pure about Tacocat, which comes across throughout Lost Time. The band describe themselves as being best friends, and this sense of joy and excitement is palpable throughout.

This record would be great background music for a party or movie scene, but it does little to hold the listener's attention on its own.

Every song justifies its spot: the Allen Ritter-produced "Drippin'" serves as a standout, exhibiting a staccato delivery and manic yelling, both of which are new to his already vast sonic vocabulary.

The band have never been run of the mill, and their latest is no exception--it's definitely interesting. And really, that's Pussy's Dead's greatest strength: a fearless sense that evolution always trumps repeating yourself.

I AKA I is a shedding of the shackles, a great example of what can happen when someone jettisons rigid structure for boundless creativity. This, above all else, makes Ash Koosha one of 2016's most important players and solidifies I AKA I as one of the most unique records to come out in years.

It's a potent celebration of their past work and a capable endnote to the band's career, whether it truly is the their final release or not.

Occasionally, Willner's penchant for repetition is taken a little far here, but in most cases, it serves to heighten the drama of changes when they do come.

On the whole, the album suffers from a bout of dullness, with the majority of tracks mingling in a grey area, struggling to push through their apparent amalgamation and stand on their own.

For the most part, these ten tracks are a welcome throwback to the summery fun of The Blue Album and The Green Album.

Though wholly pleasant to listen to, The Wilderness occasionally dips into background music territory. And while it features some of Explosions' most exploratory music to date, the record is dragged down by passages that, despite the astro-nautical theme of the track titles, occasionally fail to reach the stratospheric heights Explosions are known for.

Hella is an easy LP to get drawn into and (just like all of his other releases) it's also a joyous adventure to get lost in.

As a standalone product, Vroom Vroom only offers a scattershot glimpse at what these two might be able to accomplish.

This is a more fully realized and textured vision of what the band offered on their debut.

While longtime fans might be a bit thrown off by some of the more melodic traditional metal elements throughout Jomsviking, the music is well suited to both the concept's narrative and a natural evolution of Amon Amarth's more well known style.

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."

Unfortunately, Drink More Water 6--the latest iteration of a mixtape series started in 2012--shows little evolution in Makonnen's style, and hints that he may have exhausted the esoteric sound that he pioneered.

Tracks like "Your Nostalgic Heart and Lung" and "PF, Day One" find RJD2 exploring the depths of his own synth work, without a sample in sight. Granted, they are actually some of the weaker tracks on the album, but it's a step towards a more mature sound that has room to grow.

Midwest Farmer's Daughter will almost certainly stand among the best country records of 2016.

The record is, unfortunately and overwhelmingly, a bland release from a band that feels like they're stuck going through the motions.

Whether you're aware of the conceptual backstory behind Potential or come into the project blind, Hinton makes the album just as conceptually moody as it is conceptually aural.

Visions of Us on the Land combines made-for-TV sci-fi soundscapes, Americana, pop, rock and indie-folk with thundering percussion, psychedelic synth, gospel choir and distorted guitar in a sonic palette that charms and mystifies.

Her smooth, rich voice dances gracefully over the rougher guitar riffs and drums found all over No Burden, her extremely confident first full-length.

Unlike some of Will Oldham's previous collaborative albums, this one really works.

Full Circle as a whole feels anti-climactic. It's a rough start for Haelos, aren't exactly short on potential--here's hoping they branch out and find themselves on future releases.

On The Narrows, Phillips hasn't so much reinvented his craft, he just reinvented his perspective.

While the second half of the album almost makes up for its flaws, it doesn't quite manage to make Compassion a memorable whole.

If there's one thing that Aa demonstrates in spades, it's growth. The record not only shows a wide array of styles, but lays a solid foundation for Baauer to build on in the future.

No matter how harrowing King's cries become, how punitive the increasingly industrial percussion grows, or how profound the agony of the textured sound becomes, it's these little moments of silvery beauty that make No One Deserves Happiness transcendent and unbearable. Settle in and endure.