The entire premise of the album is entirely playful, defined by its because-I-can nature, and while this might not result in a unified feel, it's nonetheless an enjoyable and eclectic experience.

The album's weak spot is Darrow's voice, which, although pleasant, isn't as distinctive as those of his peers. Nonetheless, anyone interested in the L.A. country rock scene will find much to admire in Artist Proof, and an additional five previously unreleased demos are an added bonus.

At its best, Somewhere Else produces a few tracks worthy of putting on and dancing to in the middle of the night. At its worst, it's repetitive material that should've stayed on the cutting room floor.

In effect, McIlwain has succeeded in making not only a great record, but also a thoroughly lovely one.

It's the raw and relentless aggression of Reach Beyond the Sun as a whole that makes it worth the listen.

Excellent production by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) at his Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, FL takes Conceived in Sewage to a higher level of eviscerating brutality.

Silver Cloud delves deeper into the internal, headphone experience than even R.I.P. and it's easily Actress's best release since Splazsh.

A good portion of Total Folklore finds Friel treading the same murky path, leaving the listener with brazen, barefaced ideas and shambling, barefoot execution.

Portal are a band that never break character and Vexovoid is their fourth full-length release (along with two demos and two EPs), continuing their well-established theme of creating deep feelings of dread, alienation and confusion in the listener, all through exquisitely made and intelligently deployed aural assaults.

Beach Fossils have found a balance that's better than anyone could have hoped for.

The outwardly fun melodies and rhythms are what define the album.

No World is a heady mix of opaque beats and Romy Madley Croft guitar lines that reverberate throughout the band's 41-minutes of modest club bangers.

Jamie Lidell is a stunningly entertaining album and an exemplary ode to the good ol' days.

Amidst a sonic atmosphere of clenched-fist roughness, one can find stark beauty and honest emotional value in the lyrics of lead singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt

Off/On is an all-around more palatable effort would be overselling the band's sophomore release, but once the listener ventures into mid-album territory, it's easy to point out Forma's mounting melodic maturity.

Much of it is too unremarkable for it to be anything but a decent starting point for Quarrell to build upon.

Budden's raw energy and experience enriche otherwise throwaway pop, even when saccharine hooks (Kirko Bangz) and amphibian croaks (Lil Wayne) threaten to cheapen it.

While the tension between live and synthetic elements is interesting to listen to, Homosapien lacks the kind of grand creative spark that's often born from this.

While it might be just another Bettie Serveert record, it's also another solid addition to their already impressive discography.

It's really Schnauss's choice of drum sounds and patterns that prevent A Long Way to Fall from sounding like a toothless ambient piece.

In creating a warm, intimate sound emphasizing piano and organ over acoustic guitar for the first time, Hayden sounds content even when talking about mortality.

Wraetlic is a dark record, delicately assembled to provide the listener with an experience in humanistic truth, a subject in which Smoke has succeeded quite well in outlining.

Twenty-two years later, My Bloody Valentine is still the band everyone's talking about, and although it may not necessarily build on Loveless, there's no audible reason m b v shouldn't be spoken of in the same hushed, venerating tones.

Sadly, today there's nothing to distinguish Lowery and co. from scores of other unfocused bands trying to combine too many disparate elements.

Afrobeat, techno, Latin rhythms, jazz and electronica fly by thick and fast on We Will Not Harm You in a dizzying display that's both comfortingly familiar and wildly futuristic.

With Big Star now put to rest following the passing of Alex Chilton, Stamey is the rightful person to fill his shoes. Lovesick Blues offers more than enough proof that he's fully prepared to do just that.

Berberian Sound Studio is far from an essential album, but it's definitely a welcome surprise addition for fans of Broadcast, the movie itself or fans of Italian horror soundtrack artists such as Goblin.

Forever Endeavour is indeed a humble record, but as with its touchstones, the album's power lies in its simplicity.