This isn't a radical leap forward, as with some of the other releases. This is quite clearly a self-definition.

It works overall, but his nasally delivery over such a lengthy drone tune will test some listeners. But no matter how much Miller tweaks his approach, he still nails the finished compositions.

Despite a shift-up in sound, the new roads dug out by Weatherbox are littered with elements of the old trails.

While nothing too original, Loom still acts as its own thing.

It is a skillful, daring, side-step into a new plane that leaves the band with far more aspects to explore than when they started.

The indie-DIY feel is prolific enough to allow the majority of their sound to sink in as it's noisy in a good way and yet, a bit harsh when it comes to lyrical exposure.

It's quite hazy, quite crowded but it works. It really does.

The distant vocals and a plethora of noisy, crashing cymbals keep a frenetic pace throughout the first half of Psychic Mess which tapers out to a slower second half.

Floor is no longer Torche's prologue, and a new narrative where they coexist is forming.

This album is much more interesting and engaging than Diaper, but just like with that album, the dancey, synth-heavy songs like Airplane's "TMNT Mask" are absent.

With a sense of humor and punk tilt, Under Color of Official Right decidedly makes Protomartyr one of the better acts of its kind going on.

Give Indie Cindy an honest listen. If you have to, just pretend it's the new project of Frank Black, Joey Santiago and David Loverling.

Happiness Is has some great tracks, but ultimately is probably the group's weakest showing overall.

This album is arguably their strongest music to date and they manage to shoot the most cathartic of bullets at you.

This is the Hold Steady's guitar album, in a discography full of guitar albums. Crank it.

Reverie Lagoon: Music For Escapism Only feels like a well-walked bridge for the band but as a gauge for them, it's unpredictable to say where they'll go from here. It's not a bad thing.

This is far and away the best record Ragan has done.

Cope is a loud dose of poetry which I can see stretching its musical arms very far and very wide.

At first glance, it may seem more controlled, pacified and constrained a sound, but if you know the band, they never make music with restraint and as the album plays out, Dreyer's experience becomes your own.

Die Knowing is not the record that tries to re-capture the past, but rather combine the best of everything Comeback Kid has previously done. Boy did they deliver.

M-Glory took a risk by being unique and going for the bigger sound. It was a gamble that paid off immensely.

This is a good album and one that is easy to get into, especially if you have even half an ear for some country-based insurgency!

["Pothole" is] about someone wanting to be placed atop the mantle, of someone who doesn't deem them worthy enough. Them feelings. This album is full of them and it's assuredly going to be dubbed their best work to date. I bet everything on it.

The set of tracks cultivated here flows organically and with an emotional tug that draws more than just nostalgia. They're stomping on the terrain again and doing so with a vociferous sound and one that they should be very fucking proud.

If you enjoyed their last album, you'll likely be game for Too True. If they lost you after their first album, you won't be won back. Maybe this will be a grower for me, but it's not an immediate year-end contender for me.

In a year that will see an actual new Gaslight Anthem album, as well as Brian Fallon's new side project Molly & the Zombies, The B-Sides can be easily skipped.

With EP2 having a three-month buffer after the first, we've had time to get used to fact that the Pixies are back in full force. Plus, these four songs are stronger than the first four.

It’s less dynamic, less technical, less energetic, less everything.

Transgender Dysphoria Blues is another excellent album for Against Me! and one they should be proud of, especially after all of the obstacles they had to climb to get here.

Given Morello’s dynamite live sets with the E Street Band, it’s a shame that the Springsteen album with his biggest influence is so underwhelming.

As the band seems to be more and more congruent with its own pieces, they are getting weirder and weirder. Perfect.

They stand true to their ideals on Stoke Extinguisher.

Partycrasher isn’t a comeback record or a return to form. If anything, it’s a loud affirmation that A Wilhelm Scream are still one of the most creatively engaging and thoroughly fun and exciting bands in punk.

Reyes who sounds even better than he did on Jealous Again, his voice deeper, richer, and stronger but still with that manic surfer edge. But, he seems to constantly be trying to squeeze into these songs.

It doesn’t resort to chest-beating nor does it attempt to dilute its primal metal urges. It simply cuts through.

Surfing Strange has a bit more substance and variety [than its first LP]. Neither betters the other but they complement each other nicely forming the bulk of the band’s discography.

Arcade Fire managed to satisfy divergent interests. Disc one is the hits. Disc two is the weird stuff.

Christmas Songs is a fun enough, but ultimately non-essential piece of the Bad Religion canon.

They had a pop-punk grit and an edgier take on their 2012 release but The Finer Things just falls short of the potential that State Champs should be exploiting by now.

This album is 48 minutes long, and Hause musically repeats himself just a little more than is necessary. Still, Devour has more than enough quality moments to elevate Hause toward the top of the genre.

Whales & Leeches, their third full-length, offers more of what we’ve come to expect from the group, and can only be described as a hard-rocking, hard-partying good time.

Not to say they've been turning out clunkers every two or three years, but there's a renewed energy and focus on Illumination Ritual that lifts it towards the upper echelon of their best works.

They’re not afraid to step outside the box, and subsequently have crafted what is perhaps their best album yet, better than anyone could have expected of them at this point in career, and better than anything any of their peers have crafted in years.

For an album with so many disparate styles and a longish 49-minute running time, Burials feels surprisingly quick and cohesive compared to other, latter-era AFI albums.

Intersections is colorful but not full of drivel or loquacious exposition. It isn't pretentious. It's just raw and fucking heartwarming. Grab it.

Admittedly, it's a huge undertaking to listen through, especially for newbies, but much like Horseback's other releases, it's worth the effort.

Sad to say, this follow-up lacks a lot, music-wise and heart-wise, and apart from one or two decent interjections, leaves a lot to be desired.

Saves The Day sound lean, concise and reenergized. Pleasant surprise.

Jeremy Bolm and his posse have taken the time and care since 2011 to ensure that Is Survived By plays off as not only their most mature and heartfelt record to date. It's the record that could well define Touche Amore's legacy.

For the first time in their 11 years as a band, the Flatliners seem comfortable. This is their band; this is their sound.

While a product of hard times, Defend Yourself is a joyful listen and welcome addition to the Sebadoh catalog. It will please any fan of the band and also wouldn't be a bad jumping-off point for a new listener.

It's bitingly honest, thoroughly self-reflective and often, uncomfortably relatable. One of the best albums of the year.

If you stack this up against all the Pixies' previous output, it leaves a sour taste. But if you judge it simply on its own merits, it's a not-half-bad set of somewhat generic indie rock.

Moving Mountains is built on measures of emotional force and with that emotive drive, it's hard to see this record failing.

Hesitation Marks is a solid, if typical sampling of NIN's sound presented through traditional means.

Khan's most profound release to date.

Tend No Wounds might not be the best starting point for new listeners (that'd be Dial or Taste the Sin), but it should tide over fanboys until the next full-length.

Whirr's clearly moving to the beat of their own drum, rotating in new vocalists (who, at least, largely tend to sound similar) and opting for more dissonant and graying atmospheres. It feels like a losing compromise, but they're more than merely competent players at it for now-just strap in and make the most of the ride.

I think An Object battles Everything In Between for best No Age album, and while I think Object contains even more interesting musical elements, Everything had more hooks.

This record is so good we don't need to focus on those details. With I Hate Music, Superchunk will once again land near the top of my year-end list.

Dog Party know how to make a kicking, moving, genuine, bona-fide rock tune with just two instruments and two voices.

Paul Walker is painfully realistic, openly grim and socially unconscious, expressing a worldview that really, only Kindlon seems comfortable expressing in our scene.

What's tough is that to get to the second half, you really have to drag yourself through some disappointing stuff earlier. If you can make it through, you'll find Zero isn't the disaster everyone thought it would be.

The pacing of Youth is near-flawless. It's a gloomy atmosphere but ambitious nonetheless.

All the hallmarks of Defeater's sound are here.

Some tracks settle better than others but the fact that most tracks don't sound like repetitive iterations of the other surprised me a lot.

A number of the songs on Talon are very personal and show an uncommon, brutally honest vulnerability.

An album on par with its predecessor but at times, exceeding it. It has everything people love about the band in abundance.

This plays like any other band's greatest hits. Every song is gold.

Fans who dismissed the band as being on autopilot after Invented was released should give Damage a try; they'll find a band that's focused, relatable and on top of their game.

Overall, Modern Vampires of The City sounds fantastic, but not overproduced.

Not the best Queens of the Stone Age record, but a respectable showing with a few absolute gems.

Everything there was to like about Portugal. The Man before is present on Evil Friends and multiplied tenfold.

Rkives is an excellent time capsule. Here's Rilo Kiley, preserved and earnest and hooky as ever.

For any fan, past or present, this is mandatory listening.

I can only assume the title Save Rock and Roll is intentionally ironic on their part because even they should know it's quite a stretch to call this rock and roll.

A surprisingly fun album in Sister Faith, in which Coliseum channel their metal past while creating their punk present.

If one doesn't expect the last great Stooges album and sets aside the hype, Ready to Die is actually a pretty good, satisfying proto-punk rock album.

There is a fantastic flow from upbeat, crescendoing rockers to gentle yet looming ballads.

All of this adds up to another winning album in a near-flawless discography.

Daylight have released an album that'll have you talking about it for weeks.

Comfort/Distraction is a good album that shows off how well Broadway Calls understand how to make pop-punk, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the band are pulling its punches in the name of wider appeal.

All the elements that make Ghost who they are in place on Infestissumam; they're just surrounded by the sound of the band trying new things, some of which work better than others.

Stevenson and her band have been improving in every aspect since their inception, and they've nailed it here on Wheel.

The question is then, on Everybody Loves Sausages, the band's first all covers album, can they maintain the originality that seeps through their reworkings for an entire album? Yes, yes they can. And how.

Say What You Mean is eminently listenable and thoroughly appealing.

It's certainly Clutch's most enjoyable album in a good number of years, and any fan of the group's post-Pure Rock Fury era would do well to give Earth Rocker a spin.

Meir is a highly enjoyable record from a band who has already carved out their own niche in the metal scene.

Unfortunately, Tape Deck Heart is not his strongest offering as a whole, but it features a number of fantastic tracks that could conceivably be "hits" and will surely become live staples.

This batch of tunes has got enough of everything The Thermals do best to satisfy their die-hards (who might call it a "return to form") and would even be a good jumping-off point for new fans.

TSSF find its true sound here and it is a pleasant spin of melodic punk.

Because this album snaps together so well with such a varied texture, it does more in 40 minutes than most lecturers do in their entire career.

A nice rebound from the fan service of its predecessor, showing that even this late in the game, Alkaline Trio can still write better songs than the vast majority of their contemporaries and take them to uncharted waters when it feels right.

It is a welcome, surprising return to form.

Abandon All Life isn't a radical departure, but it is the most clever use of the band's tools to date.

New Moon is an exciting, challenging and rewarding listen.

With Wavves, you know what you're getting, and while Afraid of Heights offers no major surprises, it may be their finest hour yet.

Real to Reel would have benefited from more diversity.