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.

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.

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

Terror offers few surprises, but has delivered another solid slab of hardcore.

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.

They've always done hardcore pretty well but now, as you can tell off tracks like "American Death" there's something new the band wants to explore and succeed at. In fact, this reminds me of Suicidal Tendencies and set the stage for other punk tracks like "War" and "Flowers Under Siege" to make the record just as political as it is personal. And hell, they're actually succeeding at it.

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.

For the most part, Dolly sounds great- her personality pouring through effortlessly, as well as her masterful way to inhabit a song without making it a caricature.

The shifts between melodic post-rock and Korean folk and the full-on metal sections is what really caught my attention. Typically, bands can do loud well or they can do quiet and subtle well. It’s rare you find a band that excels at both, Jambinai does that here.

While not holding up to Pile's highly-regarded past, still hits hard and reminds you why Pile deserves much more time in the limelight.

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.

Guppy as a debut does have room for growth but it's a distinct statement that matches the highs that Hendricks hits and the ambitions of a band whose cult following surely expanded this year.

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.

Working again with producer Brendan O’Brien, Mastodon maintains their polished technical expertise. The album is clean but not scrubbed of feeling.

The album's pretty good -- especially as Relapse loves letting bands do this shoegazey wandering and overall 'finding yourself' schtick -- but with something so deep and filled with portraits of different eras and mentors, it's going to take some time to really say just how good, especially compared to an already profound discography.

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

If they look hard enough, any artist could find criticism of their work online. That’s sort of the curse of the Information Age. But not everyone overreacts quite as much as Eminem does. But if his fears grow tiring, his lyrical ability can still give you something to admire, even if the album is somewhat uneven.

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.

It’s not that The Black Album is a very bad album, just that it feels part of a larger calculus that’s so carefully planned out that it lacks any of the artistic spontaneity that their first two albums had, which is exactly what the band’s been missing ever since Pinkerton.

This album continues to keep the Have Mercy brand stagnant and disappointingly makes surpassing their debut a tall order. "Smoke and Lace" and "Coexist" are probably the only songs that recapture the magic of the first record. Everything else tries too hard to repeat the slow/loud dynamic they pride themselves on.

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.

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

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.

Right now they still seem to be in the reactionary phase, rebelling against the slick pop punk produced for Warner Bros. Ideally they’ll find a happy medium but for now we have You’re Welcome.

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.

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.

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

Much like peer Frankie Cosmos, the sugarcoated uneasiness works, especially when done well. Swear I’m Good At This is a solid debut.