In a Dim Light turns out to be a frustrating listen; it's an adventurous outing by a band that plainly need to sharpen their craft.

What this trio from Philadelphia, PA are offering, in spite of their rough-hewn hipster image, is nothing new and can be traced back to Barenaked Ladies through Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash and even the Kingston Trio.

New Multitudes shows, just as Mermaid Avenue did in 1998, that Woody Guthrie's work remains a living entity with a limitless capacity to inspire.

It's tempting to label Beard, Wives, Denim as a tossed off side-project that doesn't stray too far from its more famous parent band. But Pond have something more to offer and both fans and detractors of Tame Impala should give this a listen.

Willner is clearly letting his time in Germany shape his sound, which isn't a bad thing and it's nice to see another, mellower side to his work.

The band are more interesting when they expand their sound.

The truth is Trust are masters of delivery and flawless executioners, proving to be much better mechanics than designers.

Open Your Heart's greatest triumph is its ability to hearken back without feeling retro.

The album's ten dirty bass, hydraulically placed rhythms come off like a more focused, implicit version of the Minnesota-born laptopper's previous work.

Cursive have delivered a highly stylized album with a vivid conceptual storyline that keeps old fans listening while giving new listeners a chance to experience the progression the band have experienced over the last decade.

Though the stouter vocals have given the band more confidence for moments of melodic bombast, occasionally they sound out of place.

Straightforward and simple, A Eulogy for the Damned isn't a work of great musical genius, but is refreshing in its bravado and simplicity.

A lack of variation in tempos and tones gives a sense of redundancy, yet the pace of the album, with all of its gosh-darn hooks, carries it through to the end.

A marriage of vocal house, disco and pop, it's an immediately accessible album with several decent dance floor stompers.

The vocal delivery throughout (care of guitarist Woody Weatherman and bassist Mike Dean) is pretty weak, especially compared to Pepper's attention-commanding style, and that, combined with a somewhat jarring mix of fast punk, smothering, Sabbath-ian metal and good-ol'-boy Southern rock, just whets the appetite for the return of Pepper and the big rock.

Reign of Terror builds on the success of Treats without breaking from it, establishing Krauss and Miller as masters of their craft.

With their traditional sound mixing well with some new elements, Utilitarian marks the next chapter in Napalm Death's impressive career.

There's no doubt the songwriting is there--but the LP's best tracks ("All Our Wonder" and Old Haunts") share the lo-fi production that was a boon to the atmospheric beauty of their EP.

Spread over 12 songs, Del Rey becomes so ordinary, even bland, that no amount of little girl vocals or pouting can save her.

This is a release worth snapping up on vinyl when it finally comes out.

As songs pulse and glow bright in the most dynamic of ways, it's almost bittersweet to see Mouse on Mars sounding so comfortable delivering house music, losing a bit of their identity with each passing beat.

The End of That has more outstanding moments than La La Land, but whether those highlights are enough to neutralize Plants and Animals' weakness for occasionally derivative kitsch depends on how much their fans are willing to overlook.

Temple Beautiful is the sound of a mature rock'n'roller continuing to reach for new heights.

Personality comes off as expert techno done in a peculiarly conservative manner, an unadorned but sturdy tugboat floating amongst dubstep's rising tsunami.

To the casual listener, it may sound like a shadow of their greatest work, but fans will find it rewarding.

For a stopgap collaboration, Underrated Silence sits comfortably with some of Schnauss's best work.

The music contains all of the trembling beauty fans have come to expect from Alcest, combined with a sense of vitality and wanderlust.

The record is their most musically ambitious to date, while still maintaining the unrelenting, thrash-influenced Southern heavy metal they do best.