The edge is still very much here. Prefuse can still drop it apocalyptic-style, as he proves on 'Prog Version Slowly Crushed.'

Aside from a few missteps like 'Everybody Get Dangerous,' there really isn’t anything to get all pissy about here because it’s an older Weezer willing to take a few chances and still doing what they want to do.

He composes rich, intimate electronic and acoustic soundscapes that suggest myriad emotions and intriguing songwriting possibilities. As a singer, however, he's maudlin.

Considering the expensive talent involved, this is a colossal disappointment.

Her control has never been better and Jimmy Hogarth’s production provides the perfect foundation for her deeply delicate expressions.

Their lush and vivid sounds feel like a reaction to change--and the self-reckoning required to move forward.

RJ puts aside his cinematic loops to deliver his roughest and toughest beats, over which Blueprint spits the party and bullshit blues like a man watching his most celebrated contempories fiddle with iced-out jewellery while their country burns before their eyes.

Unfortunately, their sixth studio album, Anthem, has neither the undeniably sweet earworms of their first effort nor much of the catchy soul-rock they’ve produced since.

he best songs on Rize Of The Fenix address that real-life redemption story....Still, it's hard to ignore the fact that the joke is kind of stale.

When she's not challenging herself in that way [trying to emulate the established RiRi formula], she can sound a little bored, but you could argue that's part of her ice-queen R&B appeal.

Overall, as safe as Highway might be, there's no way long-time fans won't buy it.

It works best when the overpowering synth lines let up and make room for experimental noises and Iwanusa’s tender voice.

While acoustically generated and devoid of any heavy electronic processing, the results are much darker and stranger than anything on Syro, with ominous detuned metallic percussion and mangled piano noises taking the place of bright, bubbling, acid synth lines.

The songs grow overly long at the end (the title track is a bit of a bore), though the album is consistently beautiful, if not always ear-catching.

If this weren’t such a disingenuous, cynical and generally creepy record, it would be something I could really get behind.

The result is a slick, accessible rap record that's about nine songs too long.

Definitely a turn-it-up album to add to your summertime playlist.

Sound The Alarm shows that while they're still very much an acquired taste, these guys are much more capable than many would have liked to think.

Scott goes for spacey sounds, stoner vibes and vocal filters, but despite the eclecticism, he's too elusive and bland for Rodeo to amount to a stylistic--let alone a subversive--statement.

The wrong turns don’t sink the album but steer it into an awkward middle place unbefitting the talented group behind the wheel.

Moving further away from sugar-coated post-Idol fare, Clarkson steps up with more rockers and a few ballads that, while not all destined to be radio hits, are all convincing and emotionally bare.

His latest mundane disc lacks edge despite sometimes aiming for U2.

With the fast-maturing Stone gaining greater control of her powerful pipes and a recent breakup adding to the underlying sexual tension while stoking the creative fire, the craftily reconstituted 70s R&B concept works exceptionally well.

There are a few clunker lyrics--Grainger’s at his strongest when he’s singing about making love, not having sex--but overall it’s a worthy record from an artist who refuses to make the same one twice.

Kanye West has always been a troll but there was once an empowering, heroic quality to his narcissism. As he struggles to find his footing in a strange new world, there is still merit in a work like Ye if you can somehow look past the self-destructive celebrity behind it.

It's the mini-opera that moves spryly compared to the proper rock album half.

Embracing a wide palette of sounds helps, but beyond the occasional crunchy guitar or unexpected synth, it’s the arrangements that make this album work.

Kiesza’s so much better when she reels back her impressively ranging vocals to buttery.