The Crystal Fairy debut self-titled LP certainly feels like it was made in a flash. The eleven tracks speed by, flipping from riff to riff, track to track. In fact, the whole album has such an impulsive energy, it almost feels like it was recorded in a single, continuous take... and that’s a good thing.

Apocalipstick isn't just a record, it's an experience about being hungry, fearless and restless in a world that condemns those for being such.

The album could have done with a few tracks less but apart from the tightening up, it's a great move forward, placing you in the shadows or running through said corridor trying to escape an axe-wielding murderer.

The thought of trying to recreate “Abolish Government” or “Code Blue” a dozen more times for a new record probably didn’t appeal much to him [Jack Grisham]. If that’s the only TSOL stuff you like, you should pass on this. If you can keep an open mind, there’s lots to like about The Trigger Complex.

If you’re mostly into pop-punk, you probably won’t like this. Everyone who likes it rougher needs to check out Iron Reagan and Crossover Ministry.

The big hooks, crunchy guitars and foot-stomping jams will surely have fans erupting at live shows for these songs, because the album's such a rich, full novel, musically and lyrically which we all can, or will end up, relating to.

It feels like a few tracks could have been cut to make it crisper and tighter but that aside, you definitely want in on this, what appears to be Hause's diary used as a eulogy.

John Paul Pitts’ melodic prowess is what keeps me listening, even on a more chill album like Snowdonia. Something about his melodies and vocal timbre just hooks me and won’t let go. I just wish they would pump the volume back up!

While not all the songs pack the same punch, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life succeeds on its earnestness.

While some of it lacks creativity, expression, and comes off a tad bland, you do get a sense of what could have been, had they just unchained themselves a bit more. Ironically, the songs that stand out the most here are the ones that ape tracks off Sing The Sorrow.

This is their best work to date and the great thing is, you can tell they're still evolving and fleshing out which direction to head in. It feels like a state of limbo, but in the best way possible.

11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory is all about our conviction, belief, the redemption we seek... and ultimately, triumph of the human spirit. Not a bad way to dropkick off the year.

This isn’t simply a rap album. It’s a political album. It’s an educated album. It’s a creative hodgepodge of beats, ideas, and idealisms. And most of all, right now, it’s an important album.

Keith Buckley's masterminded so much raw emotion, power and helped provide an experience that's always as vicious as it is captivating. Low Teens is another example of this, encapsulating the best of the eight LPs that came before, and really representing the history of the band--dynamic metalcore at its best.

Fans will be glad to hear the new material and to know that ST is more than just a nostalgia act. This album, like the last, is rock solid.

It's all over the place but in a good way as it prides itself on attributes and characteristics that can best be described as rushes of earnest shoutalongs, candidly told and catchily brought to life musically. All with a songwriting vulnerability like he's never shown before.

While the rockers establish the theme, it’s the slow numbers that really drive the point home.

This record blew away all expectations. It never stands still and always finds a way of resonating.

These are songs about everyday life at its most basic level. You'll have to decide for yourself whether that's enough.

This isn’t horrible, but I can really only recommend Dead to the World to hardcore Helmet fans. The rest of you should just go listen to Meantime.

It’s a perfect album in every sense of the word, this album is timeless.

This album, musically, feels like a return to Cohen’s work in the 1960’s and 1970’s. While all the songs are brilliant, they’re not pop songs.

On “When It Rain,” Brown shouts, “You ain’t heard it like this before,” like a madman. Atrocity Exhibition proves him right.

Thrash metal is in the middle of a huge revival. Testament is a major part of it, joining Anthrax, Death Angel, DRI, Megadeth, Metallica and Suicidal Tendencies just to name a few. All have put out crucial new material 30 years into their careers. Add Brotherhood of the Snake to the must have thrash releases of 2016.

Crying’s progression into a new territory is an impressive one. The band truly shows how they have graduated from a chiptune band into a much more mature band still able to use elements from their old sound to form their new sound.

Integrity Blues is Jimmy Eat World's best record since Bleed American.

Every member is in top form here. Ben Weinman has crafted an eventful aural masterpiece.

When it tries, it succeeds but when it doesn't, it really crashes into the ground face first.

It's a brutally diverse album that has something for so many rock fans. It doesn't drag across...but instead races--pummeling--through a few genres that delivers something beyond wildest expectations.

The songwriting's still pretty on point and dramatic. More so, you can feel that the spine's present here which made their older music tick. It's just the meat on the bones that's spiced very differently.

They’ve always been impressively consistent while refusing to settle for anything less than greatness and Cody is just another example of this.

Overall, not as diverse a record so points lost there, but definitely a move that gives this new iteration much more character.

Overall, the album isn't a bad listen. Symphonic. Orchestral. But compared to the last outing, it's lacking.

This album shows that newfound purpose, and more importantly, it shows that NOFX is still NOFX no matter if they embrace the ‘76 or ’16 punk mentality and that they are that much better because of it.

"Breaking The Chain" and "War", give off a Linkin Park vibe for the 2000-2008 era of MTV and help prop 13 Voices up as one of the band's most radio-friendly and accessible albums to date. They do however take away from the rawness and grit diehards came for.

This album has a cultural and stylistic appeal that has enormous identity, living up to Alcest's most sublime work.

Dinosaur Jr have been an incredibly consistent outfit since reuniting, and Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not is another solid addition to their catalog. A step up from I Bet on Sky, it’s sure to please all Dino fans.

Stage Four is bigger in scope and is a flourishing sound thanks to Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt on the guitars. They craft something subtle, where less is more. Elliot Babin's drums aren't as relentless as before and this too works in their favor because it allows the vocal lmessage to seep in. Deeper and deeper.

A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings, like all Beach Slang releases, is made for the purpose of inclusivity. James Alex may be forty-two but Beach Slang, in sound and energy, remains ageless.

From the first note to the last, you’re transported back to a time you lost someone close to you and then retrace the path you traveled as you dealt with it. I doubt this album inspires anyone to pick up a guitar or start a band and the experience it details is too personal to inspire other bands to make a similar album. But, if this isn’t a masterpiece... I don’t know what it is.

So many of their pop-punk characteristics have been shed but despite that, safe to say their music will always be anthemic and fizzing with vibrancy. Ready for radio airplay.

On this particular album, they achieve just the right amount of flair and flavour to spice things up with character and believe it or not, lyrical depth. Track-wise, there are some growers. Then you've got some tedious chores to work through mid-way but overall, the album ends on a fairly decent note.

With some new tricks as well. A Weird Exits runs a tad overboard and drags midway through but despite being about three or four tracks too long, don't let it slip by.

At the end, we’re left with something quite different than the beginning. Where we once had two musicians paying tribute to their heroes, we now have two musicians demonstrating showing us how the masters do what they do.

May have just been two or three tracks too long but in the end, The King of Whys addresses a lot of things that we can relate to.

Love You to Death IS solid. In a way, it’s sort of like those now-cherished, then forgotten, 80s downtempo pop albums ala the first Human League and Modern English LPs.

Fans will definitely find some songs on this album that are relatable and catchy. While some songs feel not as strong as others, the album still holds up for a front to back listen.

It's non-formulaic and filled with a sense of hope and belief. PJ Harvey singing about these things and building to reclamation and salvation is totally worth the trip. For fanboys and those who aren't. We need more of this in the world today.

One of the strongest albums this band has released in thirty years.

Teens of Denial is a contender for album of the year, to say the least. It’s the rawest indie rock record since The Monitor.

V sticks to Tiger Army's roots but wanders just far enough to stretch its arms.

Rot Forever is one of the most under-the-radar experiences you'll have this year

California isn’t a perfect record, nor does it need to be. It displays a band getting back on the right page with great energy yet struggling a bit to find equilibrium.

There’s never a rush to get to a bridge or breakdown, but the emotion oozes out when they are loud and free, competitive yet supportive. They build on each other, like the Harlem Globetrotters of guitars. And man, when Diarrhea Planet hit, they blow you away. Lyrically, there's not as much to say, clearly less of a priority.

Tere is a great deal of fun being had by all parties here. But, unlike, perhaps other works that reference classic styles, this is no send up or wry reference, but a sheer appreciation for the work of the weirdo masters of yesteryear... as performed by the weirdo masters of today.

Yet, with all these contrasting angles and despite the roadhouse crew bringing up the lower end, the album flies by breezily. Although the band has legion of dispatched formers bassists in their wake, it appears the band does play well with others. And not only that, they know how to use “others“ to great potential.

On Outer Heaven, Greys take a major leap. Like, major leap. This will surely alienate some fans that prefer their more straightforward approach, but ambition should be rewarded.

A New Wave of Violence is a perfectly titled blast of energy made by the best there are.

The So So Glos have crafted twelve sing-along punk numbers. The Clash influence is crystal clear in both sound and message. Now though, the production value has been raised, opening the gates to attract new fans.

They move a rung up on the shoegaze ladder by toning things back even more than their 2014 record and what's even more noticeable is that quite a few directions taken here, ring similar to bands Yip worked on over the past couple years. Nothing, however, still have an extra something to their music.

Overall, their sound's much tighter. Filled with more impact and warm, relatable moments. It's a passionate plea.

Running at you full-steam ahead, seeing red and gutting you. This album is testament to the trials and tribulations they've endured and more so, how they've risen up.

This album is like you're setting fire to your soul. And there's no better feeling in the universe. Because it has you feeling awake.

The release is energetic, genuine, and not concerned with being “perfect.” Emotion and inflection beats systematic skill every single time and the lighting pace at which these tracks seem to have been laid down only makes them more compelling, more exciting, and more genuine.

Overall, there are some flaws but Pity Sex make them work. Soothingly.

It's strong all the way through, and it'll make you wish there were more than ten short tracks.

A record of imagination. A record of reality. Punishing and as accomplished as ever. They retain their best qualities--instrumentation-wise--and it's a pleasure to document how the technical skill of this band unravels in spades, yet again.

The closing few tracks aren't as strong as I envisioned but overall, Goodness hits the majority of marks it aims for.

Very versatile and loaded with replay value, prep yourselves for one of the best records you'll hear this year.

The big hooks don’t connect, swinging too hard for something both underground and mainstream. This is a feat these two have accomplished before, but on Material, it always sounds just out of reach.

When the dust clears, even though the album's length clocks in a bit long for them, you can't escape how they utilized the room to breathe. To cause chaos. Without really shouting. Paradise is ambitious and really stakes an early claim for album of the year.

If you’re a fan of slow, sad, acoustic songs, then this is an interesting EP for your collection. Either way, it’s a great midway point in Sorority Noise’s growing canon.

This is the result of three women who have perfected their sound, now it’s our job to listen.

Overall, Muncie Girls have created a fresh touch to the mixture of indie and punk. The band has officially mastered their sound and made ten songs the band should truly be proud of.

It’s a gratifying experience structured like a pop album jam-packed with catchy choruses. While it is flawed and contains a few too many niche references, that’s become a part of Weezer’s DNA.

Atomic is a powerful artistic knife to your skull and leaves an impression that's lasting, to say the least. It's an esoteric trip that says a lot, without words.

The record's a bit front-loaded for me and some of the songs don't latch on as filler but overall, it's definitely worth the pick-up. Great stuff, as expected.

A cool, sleazy rock record that's unmistakably a group project but also perfectly an Iggy album: sexy, nasty and darkly funny.

Before a Million Universes is made up of good songs. Certain ones, you'll want to listen to over and over. But as a full record with two centered roadblocks, it needs you to earn the experience.

Standards is definitely a major step forward, and a fearless one at that.

Pollard’s sheer output is intimidating. However, as this album proves, his quality control may be as good as anyone’s in the business.

Painting With will not compare to Animal Collective’s most lauded work but these guys are forever experimentalists. This batch of songs is quicker and sunnier, something older fans are sure to despise. But what a great change of pace it is.

Higher Power's brevity and the smart sequencing between aggro and anthem makes it effortlessly knowable.

Over twenty-one years later the band has released Going Down in History that shows even if the band’s tongue in cheek send up of David Koesh and his followers isn’t culturally relevant, this band certainly still can be.

While it may not be relatable, it is a rewarding journey.

The album's trying at times, a bit too long but trudge on and give it a chance. There's something very different here that's worth the time.

Cardinal feels cinematic, colourful and is a great fine-tuning of the promise shown on past EPs.... A heavy listen, but one that's worth it.

It's such a musically bare record. "Into The Earth" is the only song that feels like a rock song and it's also very soft and drab. So many songs riff off the same synth beats that HYMNS end up being a contemplative session that puts you to sleep as opposed to prodding at your mind.

Adore Life would have been stronger as an EP, cutting off the fat and making something as lean and muscular as their songs. What we have though does suffice.

It pulls from rock, punk, noise, industrial, hip-hop, and even African tribal music. Lyrically the album is among the first to take this kind of look at hacker culture as well as how the definition of the artist and art have changed in the digital age. Regardless of genre, this may well end up being one of the best and conceptually most important albums released this year.

Tell Me I'm Pretty, while poppy and as mainstream as ever, loses its sense of appeal, character and individuality in coming off too much as a carbon copy of The Black Keys.

Whether or not country is your genre of choice, it’s hard to knock Stapleton’s ability or skill on Traveller.

Recorded by a New York jazz quartet, the entire record sounds superb and oddly intimate.

With Delusion Moon, Meat Wave have created a batch of punk rock songs both uniquely suspenseful and crawling with creepy energy. It is also one of the year’s most engaging punk rock albums.

Whether it's rock songs chock-full of reverb, haze or distortion, at the end of the day Untethered Moon is another well-assembled, guitar-driven gem that will continue to keep Built To Spill as fresh and alive as ever.