All in all, with bad songs few and far between, this was a pleasant surprise.

It's easily the band's best release in the last 10 years, and with time it will garner more appreciation in the overall catalog.

For now, call it a calculated risk that mostly works.

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.

Te nearly two dozen guests here add both a gravitas and liveliness to the LP.

Khan's most profound release to date.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Through A Wall dropped as a surprise and what I love most about it is it's so bold in that it goes right back to the sound of old after last year's Our Pleasure seemed to take a more catchy, melodic and dare I say, poppy route.

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.

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.

It's classic Fidlar. However, while the musical style's sure to leave fans scratching their heads, peer a bit deeper and you'll see their signature's very much there--it's just, well, diluted and funkier than ever.

Most of their new venture fits this bill and is actually worth the hype.

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.

It's another commendable effort from Weiss waxing on about life and love, and the changes we're all enduring in these dire times. I can tell it would have had more impact for me if some of the fat were trimmed, or if it were split into two EPs, but hey... IIOI not at their best is still quite better than many bands hitting their heights these days, especially in the indie/emo genre.

Vocalist Tim McIlrath must be given credit as well, as his voice -- and overall production -- is as tight as ever. Technically, I found their last couple albums lacking, feeling too generic and polished, but it's a much better balance now.

Cook nails it in the earliest stages, making it a bit front-loaded.

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