Hearing these two famously unrestricted musicians distil their maximalist instrument vernaculars to primal fits of abstract brutality makes Full Bleed is a fascinatingly insightful record.

Skullsplitter is a triumph of post-modern songwriting, where decisions can be recast and repurposed to suit the needs of the present.

Between only a couple hiccups, If You're Reading This It's Too Late weaves personal raps, 6-side boosts and absorbing production in cohesive fashion. It's an engaging preview of the upcoming Views from the 6.

Hexadic is louder and more gnarly than anything else he's done under this moniker.

There's no denying the highly enjoyable nature of their raw, emotive debut; that they're so young only means there's potential for even better things to come.

It's the slower, more "mature" tracks that disappoint here.... Still there's plenty to like on Let It Reign for Libertines fans missing that garage rock sound.

The best moments are when all of these elements are working together to make songs both catchy and corrosive, like the propulsive "We've Come So Far" (one of the two tunes recorded in Norway with Serena-Maneesh bandleader Emil Nikolaisen) and the unhinged bass feature, "Straight."

This is, it's apparent, an album of ideas and feelings that were dying to come out, and Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi have expressed them with beauty and technical expertise beyond their 20 years.

I Sell the Circus is an uneven collection from an artist clearly torn between the future and his past.

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.