The band members proving that they are lifers at this kind of punk provocation.

While not as album-oriented as their past efforts have been, Fashion Week functions well as a beat tape through the diverse range of influences that Hill and producer Andy "Flatlander" Morin and have chosen to explore.

That's part of what makes Sorry 2 so much fun: it's inconsistent, flailing and completely unpredictable.

The four tracks here also represent a promising step forward for Segall, showing off a succinct amalgamation of the different sounds he has played with on recent albums.

Despite that fact that this music is now two decades old, it doesn't sound at all dated.

It's the type of album that shifts with every listen, making you discover unknown corners of certain songs, with nary a lowlight or highlight in sight.

It's an interesting concept for an album, but it falls a bit flat.

Tejada's Signs Under Test comes across differently--there is a timeless quality to the album, one that suggests it will still be as relevant and appreciated long after many of its contemporaries have faded away.

As a listening experience in and of itself, Messier Objects offers very little to stimulate or engage and will likely only resonate with the most diehard among the Notwist's fan base.

This is a gorgeous album.

While mere scribblings from a musical genius can often still trump the best efforts of many, this is not the case here.

Take It Like A Man is a disjointed affair with a slippery identity.

Roberts' characteristic style is Scottish without cliché, and his marriage of old and new stands out in an oversaturated, strummy-guitar field of singer-songwriters as a gorgeous album from beginning to end.

Big Dark Love has big, dark secrets hidden away in its seams that call out for repeated listens until you can draw them into the light.

This hodgepodge of ideas, irregular pacing and abrupt transitions are oddly compelling; though it can be tough to make it to the end of the hour-long work, Elverum makes it worth it.

Alpha is the brighter and longer disc of the two, varied in its execution by walking a line between challenging, progressive moments and more accessible fare.

The heavily distorted, fuzzy wall of sound from previous albums has been replaced by lead guitar jangle here, but while that may seem off-putting to fans who are accustomed to the relentless punk bludgeoning of their previous material, at its core the songwriting is solid, and familiar enough for old fans to learn to love.

Though the occasional use of spoken word on the record jars uncomfortably, this debut is about as accomplished as one could reasonably expect.

It's a brand new soundtrack that doesn't require a film. Carpenter knows exactly how to appease his fans, and with Lost Themes, he has given them just what they want.

With We Are Undone, Two Gallants have created an album that is enviable in its quality and consistency.

Since this is Tanya Tagaq, no moment of the album feels excessive or perfunctory, making Animism one of the most challenging and listenable albums of the year.

Teaspoon To The Ocean's all-encompassing aura takes you through Craig's master class of dream exploration fairly quickly, but even in the midst of all the trippy goodness, his thoughtful testaments manage to shine through track to track, giving poignant, detailed expression to the anxiety that plagues his deepest thoughts.

The problem is that Earle's melancholy has taken primacy over his songwriting, which is uncharacteristically generic here, making this subdued and plodding release a career low.

During those carefree, unfussy peaks, Silk Rhodes sounds less like a retread and more like soul's next step forward.

Though the album lacks a unifying aesthetic, and a couple of pieces have a slight "interlude" quality, the strongest elements highlight Lipstate's unwillingness to place definitions or limitations on her music.

The narrative isn't particularly groundbreaking; it tells the story of escaping a bad relationship, falling in love with someone else and then torpedoing it with his libido. Ne-Yo's MJ-indebted falsetto does deliver some highlights on the album.

Vulnicura is a well-crafted antithesis musically and thematically, resulting in the most compelling effort she has put forth in years.

This is yet another great Punch Brothers album.