A touch of '80s-style production, including occasional saxophone-as-emotional-beat, at times threatens to nudge things into a satirical mash-up of Dire Straits/Bruce Hornsby hits, but they ride the right side of that precipice.

Gibbs' genuine reflections on being broke, losing the girl or simply growing up help to break things up a bit and add a welcomed bit of realness where both humour and originality are somewhat absent.

While Unfidelity isn't the greatest or most ambitious album in the Edwards canon, it certainly sounds the prettiest, making it a perfect port of entry for interested listeners with sensitive palates.

There isn't a bad track here, and from the sound of Ibibio Sound Machine, it appears that Soundway is intent on delivering new music every bit as distinguished as its esteemed reissues.

Vermont make their retro intentions more than clear on their self-titled debut.

While the band's earlier material sounded lo-fi out of necessity, Underneath the Rainbow disappoints due to its inauthentic attempt at sounding like an album recorded long before its time.

Where Darlings shows growth and change is in Drew's fine-tuning of his illustrious sound.

The sonic clarity is improved somewhat, but it's still messy as hell, meaning that Say Yes to Love sounds more like another demo than a proper album.

On We Got Love, his sophomore LP, the Irish knobturner has managed to produce a coherent album brimming with ideas, styles and guest musicians.

Although Tycho and company seemingly recycle a few ideas on Awake, it's a rewarding, mood-inducing listen that's best digested whole.

While being one of the most serious Hauschka albums yet, Bertelmann still managed to produce an album of experimental music that you could dance to, if you weren't too busy having your mind blown.

Despite its title, these Brits find themselves with their most diverse offering yet, a culmination of their career's work to this point.

The Private World of Paradise is certain to earn Wake Owl a legion of devotees among the late-night headphones crowd.

While not nearly as exploratory of space as his stunning work with Supersilent and Christian Wallumrod, this release is near-perfect winter night listening.

A Trip to the Coast is the welcome return of a familiar form of hooky, melodic minor scale pop balladry.

Lift Your Spirit is rather formulaic from that standpoint--not as spicy or daring as past efforts--but it's folksy, soulful, and groovy enough to catch your attention.

The album is a joyous, well-executed mish-mash rooted in crisp sounds, thanks to James' rock-centric production.

Love Letters isn't the next move many expected from Metronomy following the astute pop of English Riviera, but it's a logical move and likely the best one possible for a band as imaginative, unconventional and talented as this one.

Simply put, there are few artists with the precision and poetic fortitude of Carla Bozulich, and on Boy, she commands attention like no one else.

The improv pieces are purposefully positioned so that the Unsemble seemingly upset their own composure, like a film reel that's become stuck: it distorts slowly, then bubbles feverishly until it finally melts away.

Guilty of Everything is thus an emotional affair, but it's balanced by moments of grandness.

On their third album since Andrew Neufeld moved to vocals, Comeback Kid were poised to strike out, but pleasantly, they instead knock Die Knowing out of the park.

Although a few tracks ("Geryon," "Four Gut") suffer from muddy and unfocused melodies, there are far too many great ideas, quirky earworms and sonic peaks to give any critic reason to lampoon the title of this well-conceived, well-executed album.

It's amiable, deceptively dense and, ultimately, rewarding.

Satellite Flight: The Journey to the Mother Moon occupies a space between what is and what's coming, but Kid Cudi's admired originality falls short and is almost lackluster here in comparison to his previous works.

Kire had a vision to create his dream album and War Psalms is true punk rock, done exactly right.

English Oceans, their 12th album in 17 years, confirms they've lost little of their potency, despite major personnel changes over the past decade.

Much like Ross' affinity for mink coats, Mastermind is grandiose in its presentation, but it still only shows the surface of the man behind it.