The yMusic songs certainly sound like Ben Folds music, except that they are frustratingly safe.

The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us proves that Beach Slang are not a flash in the pan. They’re a genuine part of the heart of punk rock, pumping blood and keeping its spirit alive.

Jeffrey Lewis has finally written an album that people will look back on in twenty years and say this was the first album in what will hopefully be seen as his classic period.

There are so many moments of catharsis despite a few songs feeling repetitive or filler. It's bold, jammed with raw emotion and to top that, brutally honest.

While Return to the Moon is good, it’s not the momentous occasion the next National album is sure to be. It is, however, a refreshing change of pace for its well-defined members.

Back On Top isn't a bad listen but it falls short of that benchmark they set in the past.

Better Nature tows the fine line between artistic and product and walks the right side quite well.

Zipper Down on its own is a single short burst of energy stretched too thin.

Despite a short list of shortcomings, V is Wavves’ best album since King of the Beach, and continues the strong run of stoner punk that Williams has been on the past five years.

L lo and behold, leave it to Harmlessness to rediscover the wit and irascible, emotive charm of the band, which funnily enough nodded back to their older material . The same material that became one of the templates by which I would later gauge all indie records.

The result: an album with zero purpose but worth a listen.

For this short time, Permanence transports you back to a younger place where you're free. Enjoying the ride. Not worrying about consequences for the time being.

They’re at their most fun singing about whiskey while the brass section forces you to get up and dance. But on All a Man Should Do, they deliver something special--an album that shows our weary travelers making peace with the world and maybe even finding happiness in it.

Repentless is the best Slayer album of the 21st century.

Not a bad album but one that requires a few more listens, personally, to really feel captivated. The band seems to be going through the motions here and it doesn't stick as much.

Despite its vocal flaws, if anything, there is a great amount of care in Compton.

What The World Needs Now builds on This Is PiL in just about every way, taking the band in new directions while remaining rooted in the sound that PiL invented so long ago. For those who thought the band's 2012 return album was a one-shot burst, you're dead wrong, and you're lucky you are.

All of the songs are performed on 23 Live Sex Acts are done tremendously well, especially when the band incorporates some changes to them whether they be vocal, lyrical, or instrumental.

Abandoned, amid its mid-tempo hardcore aggression, is more introspective and focuses on personal torment and demons. It sinks its teeth into you, very deeply.

As usual, YLT evoke a lot of emotion and Stuff Like That There is another luscious, heavy-hearted piece of storytelling, which I'm accustomed to when it comes to their style.

Boring and tedious at times. But tension-filled and cinematic at others, which will leave you drifting into a beautiful abyss more often than not.

mewithoutYou once more have put out a unique assortment of tracks.

It's pretty intimate and will be deeply appreciated (especially the outtakes) if you're a fan.

Expectations may not exactly be lived up to the way you had hoped. You just may, however, find that your expectations were wrong in the first place. That’s right, Positive Songs for Negative People is more than worth your time.

One or two tracks could have been cut but overall, this is a random yet pleasant surprise. And one that's definitely sure to please fans of both.

It's a record that goes deep, slow and pensive at times, but then quickly gears up into its natural beast, staying in this state and allowing you to bask in its chaos.

Much like their most obvious influence Motorhead, High On Fire have found a formula that works for them and they largely stick to it.

The tracks that hit really save this album but those that miss, really leave a bad taste. Still, Citizen does just enough to get the benefit of the doubt.

As intimate as he gets, there's too strong a withdrawn feeling and one which severely takes away from an otherwise decent effort.

Ultimately, the band ends up playing off each and every strength, backed by Oberst doing what he does best.

Hare’s both sides show that in fact, the door of Glass Boys was just what they needed. With their past now packed away, they can essentially do whatever they want and their inherent Fucked Up-ness will still shine through.

It can be thoughtful without losing any of the rage, and at its best, can shake us awake and reignite our awareness of the world around us.

Hairball is their most open, breezy album to date.

Some tracks fall short and come off bland but when Silverstein make a splash, it definitely sticks.

All in all, it's an accessible ride and if this is your first rodeo with them, then Imbue isn't such a bad jumping-on point. However, it doesn't hold up to the young days where The Early November were immature mavericks letting loose.

Angry riffs and gigantic hooks build the base of the album and it's one heavily steeped in frustration and angst. Sadly though, as emotional and honest as the record gets, too many songs are forgettable and lack the punch possessed a couple years ago.

Metz are at their most creative and their most liberal. II is one of the most in-your-face records you'll hear this year.

This is another great Mountain Goats album. If you are a fan you probably have this already but if not, got get it asap. If you’re unfamiliar, this is as good a place as his masterwork The Sunset Tree to start, as this is like the sequel, but coming from a seemingly lighthearted place with the wrestling theme.

Painted Shut is a phenomenal follow-up to 2012 and one that'll be creepin' on you so hard. No longer is Hop Along the world's best-kept secret.

True Brew recaptures the original essence of the band as well as any magic these veterans have picked up on the ride over the past few years.

If Lonesome and Moon are 10s, Good News is a 9 and Long Drive and We Were Dead are 8’s, then this gets 7/10. Definitely worth picking up for Modest Mouse fans, but those new to the band should start elsewhere.

Obviously these tracks are nowhere near as essential as the originals, but it’s two great voices singing a handful of timeless tracks, and fans of any of the artists involved would most likely enjoy at least a few tracks from Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith.

While each member's technically great at what they do, once more, the magic from the band's debut seems too hard to recapture and as a sum of all its parts, DGD comes up short on Instant Gratification.

Fourteen tracks is way too long for ATL's brand of music and while you get a few pop anthems, most of the music comes off forced and really lacking effort.

Their music isn’t for everybody, but those who enjoy musical adventurism would do well to give The Ark Work a try. Even if you hate it, you certainly won’t be bored. For those of us who are already on board, this is an exciting next step from Aesthetica, and it will be interesting to see where they can possibly go from here.

A couple tracks too long, one or two tracks too bland but overall, it's another album from The Cribs that's more than worth a couple listens.

Another cerebral and emotionally compelling trip. It's haunting, moody and contemplative.

You won’t learn anything about the 44th state, but you will get your fill of more loud, pop-punk goodness.

This is one of the most profound heart and soul records I've ever experienced.

There is a true appreciation and savoring of sonic texture here.

While the sound overall could be described as 80s jangle-pop, we’ve got hints of everything from early 70s Bowie and T Rex, to early-80s XTC to early-90s Vaselines and Beat Happening.

AAF spread all their goodies out over these tracks with the rest of the album lacking energy. Sad to say, the other tracks feel drab and don't translate well at all.

From the Very Depths is an unexpectedly awesome record that should please most extreme metal fans.

Transfixiation shows a dangerous band finally sounding as dangerous as their live show indicates.

Seems like a deliberate maintenance to cash in on the Warped Tour crowd because there's no substance, nor any style, to this record, as has been the case for FIR for years now.

There is a clean, precise vision here resulting in powerful simplicity.

Restarter continues to push the NOS button and races off into the band's new era. Perfect build on the foundation they laid with a few tracks in 2013 as well.

For music fans that like their art on the more confrontational side, 22 minutes of Beneath California on your headphones will be time very well spent.

Chapter and Verse misses the mark in the sense that what it tries to achieve, Conduit already did in 2013. This album feels like a repetition of that and loses steam along the way.

Ultimately, it doesn't feel as differentiated as what the band did way back when, when their records stood out and urged you to pour sweat and tears into basement shows.

One complaint though which does stand out is that a few of the songs are too long and gives way to Further Out feeling a tad front-loaded.

Apex Predator - Easy Meat arrives at a time of uncertainty in the Napalm Death camp, with longtime guitarist Mitch Harris taking an indefinite hiatus due to family illness, but it stands on its own as a fine piece of extreme metal.

Hints at the past of each band member but comes together quite nicely to give something new, something unexpected but something that has, well, almost everything, for rock fans of many genres.

Their sound is fully formed, but they could stand to mix it up in song structure and technique, but that’s being picky. One of my favorite releases of the year and highly recommended.

Most of the jams offered come off like this: wasteful and undesirable with heavy riffs, no melody and heavy double-kicking that all combine into an incoherent mess.

This record will never have the far-reaching influence that Slaughter of the Soul had (honestly, no extreme metal record probably ever will again,) but that doesn’t make it any less of a headbanging and invisible orange-grasping good time.

A few songs miss the mark but the majority really stick with the charisma that's attached to Major League.

It's not as hard-hitting as their past material but still, it's worth a go.

Hang is the product of a very experienced and talented band carefully crafting a set of songs. And they’re damn good.

Seeing that the transition into Pleasant Living come off so smoothly is even more pleasing as it seems lyrically, they've grown, and in this maturity, the experience factor kicks in.

It doesn't quite reach the heights of Tempo of the Damned, but it is an excellent slab of thrash metal and one of the best heavy releases of the year.

Not only is it a fresh, focused and very hard-hitting record from the kings of NYHC, its a fun trip down memory lane.

This time around, the instrumentation's more exposed and as minimal as they feel on first listen, the arrangement grows by the song.

Minor flaws aside, this new chapter appeases the demand for more epic tunes from a band that has so much to offer.

Iceage are showing more growing pains here than those acts did, but Plowing into the Field is still a big step for forward for Iceage, and a generally interesting listen, even if it's a bit much to take all in one sitting.

I'll Be The Tornado is highly focused, driven and a record that never seems content

It's not that they're reinventing the wheel but as Guilty of Everything shows, they make beautiful art out of introspective melodies, gutwrenching shoegaze and explosive crescendos.

This seems like a minor pit-stop for them and in fairness, it's a good record but nothing like what I expected.

It's boisterous punk with just enough melodic hardcore embedded to ensure that Single Mothers won't be on any Joyce Manor bills anytime soon.

The record is an incredible release start to finish.

Some tracks are a tad too long and sometimes, it drags. It lacks life in certain key areas that you know the older sound of the band would have amped things up a notch. These time-stamps though, feel like part of a collective message.

All in all, the ten tracks are uncompromisingly honest and bittersweet, but another great chapter written.

It's not the most stunning release of the year, but it's a great step up for the band, seeing them push themselves as musicians, rather than rehashing their early EPs, which they could have done and been just as successful.

As long as their attention spans can accommodate the extremely lengthy tunes, any fan of heavy music would do well to pick up Foundations of Burden. Highly recommended.

These 11 tracks play on every ounce of rage you've ever known. Be afraid of them all. In the best way possible.

Charming and inviting best sums this musical prose up.

The tight musicianship around Kingfisher assembles like a puzzle.

Scientist is an excellent showcase of everything that made Chrome great, and continues to make Chrome great.

It fosters a lot of indie-pop, sensibly and gracefully blended into a hazy production that never misses a beat on how catchy, minimal yet smartly technical it sounds.

This album comes off as the most definitive and most complete that Joyce Manor have to offer.

Mandatory Fun is not necessarily among his must-have albums, but it's another solid addition that with satisfy any fan and win over some new kids through these big hit parodies and viral videos.

This album is violent, dark, full of anger and explosiveness--and one you shouldn't miss out on.

Baldi's lyrics encapsulate those tenets just as well as the music he and his bandmates create.

No Coast is a record that encapsulates their evolution pretty well, as a record that allows space to let the music dig in to your skin, and also, as one to show that there's no need to fear change.

A lot of sounds to take in and some head-scratching here and there, but overall, Bemis takes a brave step in a good direction.

With so many amazing tracks on tap, it's hard to single out which is deserving of repeated listens because they all are.

Beauty & Ruin is more impressionistic than, say, the Mountain Goats' Sunset Tree, but it's still a vivid, moving story about dealing with abuse.

At 10 tracks, Savage Gold is lean enough not to wander, diverse enough not bore, and certainly heavy enough to smash skulls and pillage minds.