The Next Day is a good latter-day Bowie record, worthy of at least a few listens, but since it's so evocative of his earlier, better work there's little reason not to put on Scary Monsters or Heroes instead.

Simply put, Bushcraft is the best Converge worship since the Power and the Glory dropped Call Me Armageddon in 2004.

No matter how enchanting the music gets, nothing quite eclipses her exquisite voice, which elevates the songs on The Deserters to a blissful level that no one can touch.

Welcome To Mikrosector-50 is an album designed for front-to-back listening and, as such, is entertaining in a similar fashion to a movie or TV show, given its detailed plot and narrative style.

While it would be easy to lose oneself behind a wall of genre tropes in a project like this, Smith's easy breezy, man-out-of-time persona stays front and centre on each of these 15 tracks.

With Disrupted Ads, Oh No manages consistency, even when cleaning out the vaults.

Through the Window might finally allow Fernow's critics to move past the "noise" label, because in his mind, he's been beyond that for years.

The record packs familiar Function trademarks--industrial themes, hissing white noise, acid loops and retro rhythms--but the ideas fall short of reinvigorating the legacy established after Sandwell Disctrict's full-length, Feed Forward, landed in 2010.

Lady deliver a definitive bright spot for those who remember when female R&B was great, and believe it can be again.

It's all a tad by the book, but the book is well loved and worth re-reading, so why not?

We are treated to a smorgasbord of pop's finest elements, blended together in a dizzying melting pot of ideas that could've easily failed, but surprisingly and pleasantly succeeds.

An album about religion that's not at all religious, Benoît Pioulard refuses to come off as descriptive or thematic, making Hymnal an example of a mood piece that's designed to be affecting, but never static.

Some may chide Farrar for playing it safe on Honky Tonk, but in nearly every respect this album sounds as if Farrar has finally arrived at an artistic place he's always longed to find.

Images maintains an aura of continually mounting tension that keeps you anxiously captivated throughout its ten nervously haunting tracks.

Untogether does manage to lose its grip on your attention, at times, falling back on a bit of redundancy, but when it takes hold, it grabs you by the ears and fills them with a wistfulness that haunts you for days.

They may no longer be cutting edge (who is these days?), but Autechre's intricately psychedelic pieces are still chock-full of detail, intrigue, wit, intensity and poise.

The production values mean that, even though Powers' reverent anthems aren't a huge departure from what he's done in the past, the results have added gravitas.

There is plenty to enjoy here, though many of his long-time fans will be hoping for a return to the bigger picture next time out.

A distinct effort has been made to play up the sexiness of the project and, thankfully, the music lives up to that imagery.

The ace in the hole should be Maandig, so foreign is a female voice in the macho world of NIN's industrial muscle. But her vocals are too often drowned out, often intentionally, by the music.

It's clear that the members of Golden Grrrls write enjoyable, harmless numbers with great ease. However, since these numbers are given little chance to grow, Golden Grrrls lacks staying power.

Fans of the group may be surprised by the subdued nature of singer Liam Corcoran's usually prominent acoustic strumming and bubble-gum pop harmonies, but Foolish Blood's low-end textures and diverse layers guarantee that the Maritime icons will remain relevant for years to come.

Miracle Temple is still a wonderfully warm and welcoming record, but it never soars.

It's a sweet musical reprieve from radio presenters with beaming suicide smiles gracing subway posters with snappy catchphrases.

Bilal describes creating A Love Surreal as a surrealistic exploration of love and, indeed, he delivers on this end.

Yorke, it goes without saying, is a fine songwriter, so there's nothing particularly wrong with the solid AMOK. The problem is that there's nothing incredible about it, either.

With this album, the Parenthetical Girls position themselves as pop craftsman with depth.

A record this sturdy in composition and delivery has the resilience to stand up to countless plays, and that timeless ache for a good, hard cry.