It has enough experimentation in it to throw off fans of old, but Every Country's Sun is a Mogwai album at heart. It's just marching to a different drum. It jars you like the Beasts of No Nation soundtrack but leaves you, as the title implies and wants, much more hopeful.

This record is a super early contender for album of the year for me though. It’s loud, dark, and thundering. Bambara suck you into their world for just under an hour, and as unpleasant as it can be. It’s not one you find yourself ready to leave.

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

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

Whereas most inside/silly jokes are used by a closed group to draw their own bonds closer, here, the Melvins are using that device to invite people into the world. And frankly, it’s a fun and funny world despite the gratuitous use of the F-word.

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.

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.

Seriously, these songs feel like Smashing Pumpkins demos--grainy, rough, atmospheric--like if they were made in a garage, and I think that's exactly what CN wanted to achieve. Rough, raw and rugged, but still jangly, catchy and head-poppy enough to leave you wanting more.

Every song on this album is strong, starting from the compelling opener, “Satellite,” which firmly establishes the return to the classic Get Up Kids style which is as strong of an opener as “Holiday” or “Man of Conviction.”

Here, Rancid don’t redefine themselves, but they show that there is a lot of life in some of their lesser explored aspects. Simply, this is the band’s best record since Rancid 5.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

These are some of Cube’s hardest and most energetic beats since the ‘90s.

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

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

I did enjoy hearing Jetty Bones' cooing voice on "Icicles (Morning Glow)" but other than that there aren't that many songs to phone home about. There aren't even rock ballads a la "Minnesota" and while the closer "Hallmark" tries to mix aggression with toned-down indie licks to somewhat appeal to folks like me, it's just not the impact I expected from the band this time around.

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

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

While American Weekend had clear standouts in tracks like "Be Good" and "Bathtub," Cerulean Salt manages to maintain a consistently high quality throughout.

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.

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

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.