The results are a pleasant surprise.

Though some of MG comes off unfinished and thematically skeletal, Gore does a fine job at utilizing a multitude of sounds on experimental-leaning tracks like "Creeper" and "Trysting."

Overall, Hairball lacks some of the subtlety found in their previous work, but it's still an engaging listen from start to finish.

Recorded live with no overdubs or loops, Never were the way she was is a perfect blend of Neufeld's violin virtuosity and Stetson's outside-the-box approach to saxophone and clarinet, their styles complementing yet pushing each other to new heights.

The result is Deep in the Iris, a musical mash-up of acoustic and electronic influences that's both achingly vulnerable and tentatively joyful.

[Percussionist Joshua Van Tassel] and master bassist Bret Higgins give all these songs organic, unfussy rhythms that dig in like the deepest of tree roots and guide this Forest of Arms.

Give this one time, and it reveals itself.

His predilection for marrying sublime pop melodies to bombastic arrangements laced with classical avant-garde flourishes has reached a new level of focus, and, resultantly, potency, on Jackrabbit.

There was a sense that this record would be Speedy Ortiz's great leap forward. Instead, we get some tentative baby steps in the right direction, as the band settle for just really good instead of truly great.

Instant Gratification is the culmination of the band's growth over the years, and delivers a variety of well-crafted songs.

The Early Years is a ferocious and borderline terrifying slab of feral noise-rock, but it's only a small indication of what it sounds like Girl Band might be capable of.

A fluid release, a chilled-out, soulful take on the Charlatans' psychedelic sound complemented by muted horns and jazzy keys.

Often tawdry and occasionally remarkable, Damogen Furies is a scattershot release, but one that's definitely worth exploring.

Thirty years later, it's another landmark, his best record in years. Maybe decades.

There's undeniably something missing here.

Untethered Moon is arguably the most enjoyable Built To Spill album since 1999's pivotal Keep It Like A Secret.

It's a deliberately weird record, but authentically weird; it's chaotic yet cohesive, full of sound, colour and unshakable vision.

As Wire albums go, Wire is very accessible and it contains nods to almost every album that has come before it.

It's music with a strong pulse that also whispers its truths close to your ear, like an intimate conversation at the back of a booming dance club.

Moments of souled-out bliss are only temporary, pushed aside by jarring, more aggressive fare reportedly stemming from his interest in the music of Death Grips.... These louder tracks are done no favours by the process by which they were engineered: compressed and distorted in a fashion that leaves Tyler's vocals largely inaudible.

Living Fields is rich in its intimacy, enrobed in an ambiance that feels like a continuous pull towards a soundscape designed for dreams.

With Black's mystifying decision to release all of the material alphabetically (rather than chronologically) alongside the lack of extensive liner notes and the inclusion of a mostly disappointing bonus disc (comprised of outtakes from 2002's Black Letter Days), The Complete Recordings feels less celebratory than perfun

It's difficult to avoid self-parody when you're mining a genre that largely defines itself by tacky sonic flourishes, but somehow White Hills have continued to do just that.

While their approach is a little aggressive at times, making it a little too much to take in at once, Glitterbug is full of tracks that prove there's no reason not to indulge in it.

With this album, Gallows have fine-tuned their previously established sound, creating a cohesive and powerful set of songs.

A kaleidoscope of wonder, moments tucked inside other moments like Russian nesting dolls.

The first two-thirds of this album are nearly flawless.... There are a couple of stumbles down the backstretch, though.

O'Brien manages to inhale stuffy themes of love and heartache and exhale fresh retellings.