Although Doyle's vocal melodies lack focus at times, Total Strife Forever possesses enough left-turns to satisfy the most adventurous electronic music fans.

Frustratingly, the record seems somewhat sleepily produced by her husband John Leventhal. One wishes for more flourish to distinguish these songs from one another.

Given that these recordings span different eras and sessions, High Hopes does have a cohesiveness, flow, and degrees of greatness, but unlike the career-spanning rarities comp Tracks, there's nothing about these lost or revisited songs that screams out "Jackpot!"

Forever is essentially a pop record, but while there's no denying that some of these songs in isolation fulfill the catchy promise of that genre, there's just not enough to elevate this above being a decent debut and not much else.

Anchored by the cinematic piano compositions of chief-songwriter Hazel Wilde--who seems to have learned vocals from the Bilinda Butcher School for Barely Audible Singing--and the ambient excursions of lead guitarist Paul Gregory, rarely has an album about England's eroding economy and cultural upheaval sounded so exquisitely triumphant.

Over ten tracks and 40 minutes, Post Tropical never picks up any steam, never comes to life. Mere gorgeousness is, it turns out, not quite enough to sustain a record.

Though not his most cohesive work, Marci Beaucoup is undoubtedly a solid addition to Roc Marciano's impressive and rapidly expanding catalogue.

Although Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are brilliant Motown/Stax revivalists, their stalwart '60s soul/funk, at times, hits the inevitable yawn note.

Few of his contemporaries possess a post-important-band solo discography as prolific and consistently great as that of Stephen Malkmus, but each new album firmly leaves his past in the dust.

The overall tempo has slowed, allowing for more instrumental variation and a chance for the band to explore the new musical terrain (which they thoroughly do).

The songs just sounded great, and were played with such precision, at these shows.

With Hardcourage, FaltyDL proves that he still has an endless arsenal of tricks up his sleeve; it's just what he chooses to wear on said sleeve that makes all the difference.

The Behind the Green Door EP contains some of the most comfortably weird grooves we've heard from Laurel Halo.

Burial's tracks have always sounded sentimental, but it was usually contrasted with caustic backdrops that gave them some bite; on these two tracks ["Hiders" and "Come Down to Us"], it's the missing element.

Rather than slow down and chill out, he chooses to mirror our own sped-up reality in his music, with impressive results.

Realistically, Alternate/Endings is not for everyone, but anyone who's intrigued by the dark and unconventional side of things--or thinks that jungle needs a new platform--will devour this album.

Beyoncé is better than good, slickly packaged, created with the best of intentions yet still comes off as a postmodern mash of hubris, sincerity and gloss. It will be a hit regardless.

The risk of keeping things breezy is that tracks can often lack weight.

It's only when he applies his production tricks to his own voice on tracks like "Reflection" when things tend to go awry. But its this experimental bent that makes Rap Album One stand out, and deploying these skills judicially in the future will undoubtedly pay off on the evidence of this solid, eclectic debut.

It's an impeccable compilation.

Apart from a generic cameo from Kurupt on "Ride," 7 Days of Funk is an infectious, modern take on the funk genre--here's hoping that Snoopzilla and Dâm-Funk will collaborate again.

A pleasant enough album, but when it comes down to it, Toy are much more appealing when they soar rather than tread water.

Because the Internet is a vast improvement over his debut effort, showcasing an artist who has confidently found a way to coalesce his love for music and films into one hybrid effort.

Ultimately, there isn't much to recommend with Black Panties.

The music lacks the sheer immensity that must have graced it originally, as it's virtually impossible to recreate something so grand at home.

In order to continue to excel, he needs to move past the solipsistic and look outward. He raps better when he does.

The set comes off rather rigid when compared to the almost mutant beats of Perceiver, yet a sense of playfulness manages to reveal itself throughout.

Though precise and at times cold and glassy, the album is by no means a minimalist evocation of a future world of urban decay.