There's enough variety mixed in to keep the instrumentals fresh, with luxurious string passages, warm organ swells, overdriven guitar riffs, some harmonica and even a fuzzed-out synth tone.

Though it's no surprise that Cole's consciousness leads the album, his unabashed statements regarding the direction of rap music and its current megastars are gutsy.

Throughout the 15-track album, he weaves from hip-hop and psych-rock to R&B and soul, proving that artistically, he will never be confined to a single box.

All the controversy gives elements of DAYTONA some delicious extra novelty, though thankfully its core ingredients are more than fulfilling on their own.

So much goes right here, but in scrubbing their songs of imperfections, they've also magnified their flaws. Though not quite stuck in neutral, it will certainly please the band's ever-expanding fan base while not really moving the needle creatively enough to convince sceptics that their initial opinions were unfounded.

Tracyanne & Danny is a deftly-produced, heartfelt album, highlighting both Campbell and Coughlan's best qualities, setting the bar high.

The arrangements are beautiful, borderline orchestral, and contribute to an expanding Horse Feathers soundscape. While the mood that Ringle is trying to strike with these ten tracks belies easy definition, what's clear is that Horse Feathers are forging a new way forward.

Thanks to the lack of coherence or variety though, nothing on Die Lit really sticks. It's fun enough but, save for a few keepers, has the lifespan of a mayfly. Rock to it for the summer and forget most of it by September.

The album, the first effort from the Poets in 20 years, is just as blunt and angry as their past work. But it is tempered with a patient wisdom that can only come with time, experience, and the gift of hindsight.

V. never rises above space rock, making the album feel like any other '60s hippie/psychedelic record. It's adequate, but when you can easily predict how it's going to play out, you're never left wanting more.

A deep, traversing album.

An album that challenges, even as it brings a 17-year band to its conclusion. As a coda for Frog Eyes, it's hard to imagine a more potent sendoff.

It's a comfortable collision of songs that probably won't gain many new listeners, but should find a home in real fans' collections, despite its lack of risk-taking.

This ain't the easy listen they've become known for, but it is a rewarding one.

The end result is likely the most dynamic and entertaining Jicks record thus far. You can hear Malkmus's love of classic and kraut rock in these crafty arrangements, which each get to a place where they truly shine. Hard.

Wide Awake! is a letter-perfect musical contemplation of modern times, where social uprisings are actually affecting positive change. It's urgent and potent music that's thought-provoking and danceable, and whose rage is measured by a pointed optimism.

Clever turns of phrase and quirky observations still permeate Barnett's writing, and there are still jangly, toe-tapping jams like "Need a Little Time" and "City Looks Pretty," but there are also darker forces at work.

What makes Hundreds of Days such a engrossing listen lies in the way Mary Lattimore flawlessly combines both mood and mode.

Compared to Wolfgang Voigt's heyday, Rausch can feel a bit a like a protracted misstep. Although GAS's sound starts to sound a bit dated, Voigt can still be applauded for his approach to storytelling and patience in constructing his electro-orchestral worlds.

The result is a fun, freewheeling album that nonetheless feels mature — and still very NYC as well.

The Siren's Song is another compelling chapter in what looks increasingly likely to be the long story of Kacy & Clayton's career.

Mark Kozelek is a skeletal record, composed almost exclusively with guitar loops and vocals tracks, designed to serve as a vehicle for his diary-like lyrics. Some may argue that Kozelek aims for quantity over quality, while others wait attentively for his next correspondence.

Leon Bridges' sophomore record rings as an endorsement of his range. And that's a great thing for Good Thing, which tempers its pop-radio ambitions with unique bends on the age-old love song in this super-tight, 35-minute ride.

DNA Feelings is unlikely to show up in any club sets. It is far too complex and unconventional. This is late-night, "visions of alchemy" stuff.

The album is slippery, but perhaps not in ways that are interesting enough to memorable, and definitely not as much as his previous work.

Floating Features hits the ear and satisfies as much as a California-grown avocado, buttery and smooth.

Overall, this is an album that blends choral and electronic to create something that amounts to little more than unobtrusive background music. It lacks both the cultural depth of world music and the dynamic disco beats of their earlier offerings.

At this stage, both brothers realize they work better together, though SR3MM's unique format allows for a distinct look at the two very different parts of what make Rae Sremmurd tick.