There are more questions here than resolutions, making Eat, Pray, Thug a thinking person's record, but that's a good thing, especially now that he's speaking to his largest audience yet.

It may take Butler a few more albums (he has promised in interviews to continue writing and recording as a solo artist for years to come) to carve out his own identity from the monolithic entity he's a part of, but there are plenty of plausible ideas on Policy for Butler to continue exploring.

Cancer Bats' most experimental album might also be their catchiest.

It's a feel-good record with intricate, heartfelt tunes, and effectively spreads the gospel of the church of Spacebomb.

At its best moments ("Long Road," "Funeral in my Heart," "Fennario") Landry comes into his own, and the record feels deep, substantial. Too bad he lets himself slip from time to time into a mimicry that feels beneath him.

While he seems outshone by his flashier co-stars on much of Ronin at first, repeat listens find his well stoked lines smouldering for far longer than you'd think.

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.

Approaching this project as a commissioned artist would, Jon Hopkins' Late Night Tales feels more like a narrative than it does a simple mixtape.

These are original compositions with a modern polish, yet they stay very true to the styling of yesteryear.

Comb the Feelings Through Your Hair shows Grooms delivering an ambitious album where simple familiarity would have sufficed.

Rose Mountain could be the album that finally brings these hardworking punkers to a wider audience after nearly a decade of existence, and it would be well deserved.

I Wasn't Born to Lose You is a solid return from a band eager to sound like themselves again.

Strangely familiar, yet still a major leap forward, there's a nice pop sheen that sells the record without losing the idiosyncratic production that drew listeners to the duo in the first place.

Aureate Gloom is the point where grief becomes a search for light in creation, adventure and musical experimentation, making even Barnes' more experimental sonic forays sound urgent.

It sounds like the kind of album Ryan Adams would enjoy. Whether or not you find that notion attractive will define how you feel about this record.

Shadow of the Sun is an intriguing journey; hopefully, given more time, Moon Duo will embark on some new adventures with even wilder results.

All told, Bad News Boys is as solid a record as the King Khan and BBQ Show have ever put out, and a must-have for fans of both the band and the genre.

With enough panache to warrant a full-length release, Seasonal Hire is an all-too brief look into four musicians' quest to push their music further.

With 16 tracks and a runtime of over an hour, Archive Series Volume No. 1 doesn't have quite enough stylistic or emotional variety to hold up as a proper album. As a vaults-emptying exercise, however, it's stunning to see just how much quality material Iron & Wine has had sitting around collecting dust for all these years.

Big Sean has reached a personal high by finding his Dark Sky Paradise, and it's his honesty that takes listeners there with him.

The diversity of Future Brown never once feels overwhelming, making the trip through these sounds from a futuristic dance floor satisfying throughout.

The production is top-notch, but Ghost rarely shifts into uncharted lyrical territory, holding back Sour Soul's otherwise consistent production.

While it's easy to go overboard making an album like this and lose a track by burying it in too many samples and obscure references, Projections keeps its focus, and balance, by never using more than necessary.

There are few artists who are as artistically uncompromising, and while EarthEE may not garner the duo many new fans, its quality will ensure it outlives the kind of transient hype they might have shot for.

Despite their sonic similarities, Deacon's fourth full-length has struck an amicable balance between the hyperactive energies and extravagant compositional ideas prevalent in his earlier work.

Although it suffers from its divided track list, The Republic reveals Prekop finding comfort in his newly discovered instrument.

Restarter is remarkably composed and perfectly balanced, demonstrating Torche's ability to continually refine their doom-pop/melodic hard rock approach.

Thematic and cohesive, Supermoon eschews the scattered folk of his LPs for an attentive, intimate perspective on some old tracks that should tide fans of Carey over until his next proper record.