The benefit for The Men playing this sort of music is that where they’re nicking from grows less important--so long as they keep pulling it off. Pull it off they do in spades for the third straight record, save for the fact The Men have yet to figure out how to make their ballads as compelling as their high-octane songs.

Patina sounds pristine and good enough to justify its own existence. When the highlight ‘Special’ carefully laces its framework with enough sparkles and ethereal vocal melodies to light up a pitch black sky, it’s hard to feel anything but joy. Tallies make music that, in absence of originality, is of excellent quality.

Pop music this shiny and smooth always captures our ears but rarely captures our hearts. Even if the same is true for the sticky sweet Good Grief, it provides a silver lining for Lucius to aspire towards.

This is a good album for a band as deep into their career as Elbow, but it’s also worthwhile even without that qualifier. The band aren’t getting any younger, but they are getting wiser and, dare I say, more fun.

This delusional “growing up is bad” aspect of Bangerz is part of what makes it good, because it means that Miley can pull off things that shouldn’t work.

This thing is quiet. It’s cozy. It’s simple. It’s, to be blunt, a vibe. Horrible Occurrences is a warm blanket during this time of year where the days can stretch on forever and the nights can swallow me whole.

In the end, Don’t Get Lost is very enjoyable, yet the main downside is its length.

His performance on The Off-Season will have hip-hop oldheads smiling, nodding, reminiscing on days of old. ... The lack of any poignant through-line either sonically or thematically will have bespectacled journalists shaking their heads and talking about how Kendrick does it better.

Bloodsports is the sound of a band who have rested, recouped and clawed back some of that old time vitality.

Yeezus is a challenging album. Usually when people say that, they imply that there will be a reward for closer listening, but I’m not sure that there is with this album.

[A] foggy, glorious mess of an album.

These are simply ideas, a couple that resemble songs, a couple that resemble interludes, that hopefully signal a return to dedicated musicianship for the artist in the near future. Its vibrancy and warmth is as pronounced as it is well executed, and for those who can forget the mystique of Flying Lotus for a minute and appreciate what he’s trying here, you might find yourself dazzled.

he more he opens up, however indirectly, the more Dark Bird Is Home is content to color his emotions through an opaque prism of expansive arrangements that belie a broken heart.

None of them break any new ground for the act, however, they are really tight songs overall.

As with the self-titled release, Mind Over Matter front-loads its more accessible tunes.... Unfortunately, the album’s latter half is a little more hit and miss, with everything being competent enough in isolation, but arguably unengaging when amassed together.

Though occasionally wallowing, there’s a self-assuredness here, a comfort in one’s skin, that’s refreshing, and relieving, given how close to the edge this ship has teetered over the years. As entertainment via soundwaves, it occasionally sags-lags-drags, but for a thoughtful tome on patient self-betterment, you couldn’t ask for much more.

The Death of Slim Shady (Coupe De Grace) isn’t a blazing return to glory, but it is an intriguing album filled with some legitimately light-hearted and funny moments – something I feel has been sorely lacking in his material for years now – the battle between Eminem and Slim Shady is a great concept that is explored pretty competently here, and the instrumentation, while far from perfect, captures the essence of what he’s trying to accomplish here.

The good-not-great quality of much of The Land… is at once its strong and weak point, enhancing the highlights but exposing concrete shortcomings. Simultaneously, this album is a highly productive move for Mitski, opening up a wide array of new possibilities for future endeavours.

You almost wish Friedberger would unleash more of that nervous energy that sometimes overwhelmed Personal Record, but with a record as lovingly crafted as New View, it would be wrong to ignore what remains: a songwriter with as distinct a voice as anyone in indie.

The band simply sounds recharged on First Ditch Effort, a sometimes hilarious and often consistent return to the sound that worked so well for them well over a decade ago.

The record lacks the depth found in Nine Inch Nail’s previous records and the engrossing brilliance of their more experimental leanings. All that aside, Hesitation Marks stands as incredibly solid, perhaps more so than any record put out by the band in over a decade.

Those who take the time to unpack and absorb the content will almost certainly find aspects that crawl beneath the skin, but the collection is only as hard-hitting as the listener is receptive to the experience. It’s musically calming like a dusky sky pinpricked with stars, but unforgivingly immediate in its focus, like the underlying promise of thunder.

Drake's pop music con job is just too well executed despite all its obvious flaws to not be enjoyed.

In all, Turn Up That Dial treads familiar ground, but their heart-on-sleeve message of empathy and admiration for friends, family, and the gift of music is a welcome addition to their discography.

I See You is a pleasant enough listen, and in embracing Smith’s more hot-blooded production, the xx have avoided becoming stuck in a rut a second time. Yet like Sim and Madley-Croft in song after song, I See You still leaves me wanting something undefined: something more.

Model Citizen is absolutely straightforward and all the better for it, even if its second half can't quite live up to the relentless good vibes of "Brighter Days (Are Before Us)" or heavier banger "Mapped Out".

Tissues is occasionally uninviting in its austerity, but it makes up for this by being so easy to follow; it’s intuitive enough that it doesn’t have to be ‘deep’, but at the same time, it’s too fleshed out to be shallow. If Daijing is still taking that ocean bath, she’s no longer treading water.

Just as Mosaic flows in easily, it flows out the same way.

His albums are usually quite long, but this one with its near hour and a half runtime might be a chore to sit through for even the most die-hard Sun Kil Moon fans. But there are some extraordinary movements on this thing.

It doesn't all work, of course, and that kind of wacky humour nestled alongside self-empowerment anthems can be jarring, but it's all in service of Kesha re-discovering the fun, the joy, the rainbow.

These aren’t the kind of riffs and melodies that will imprint onto my brain the way almost every song from Undoing Ruin or Deliver Us did, but Darkest Hour get a gold star for effort for delivering a strong metalcore record, and more importantly, for pulling off an immensely difficult comeback.

Love in Shadow is a startlingly unique addition to the band's catalog, and the most dynamic and interesting album that Aaron Turner has ever created. It's easy to see the multitude of cracks and smudges that besmirch this messy record. It's even easier, however, to just sit back and enjoy one of metal's weirdest and most fascinating releases of the year.

While the 80s are a well-trodden playground, Girl with No Face proves there are infinite ways to make old ideas new by contrasting them with the now.

The album's relatively narrow focus does it few favours here; its reluctance to experiment outside of sparkly, quickfire bangers inadvertently spotlights how the appeal of its weaker cuts is directly interchangeable with that of the highlights.

Overall, Dark Matter ended up as the most interesting and energized record since Backspacer. It seems pushing the band to work fast in the studio yields better results. Of course, most of the material here sounds familiar, but the members feel once more invested in it.

in spite of this record’s formlessness, i keep coming back to choke enough. there’s something intriguing about a pop album committed to never, ever popping, while presenting enough cute little bits that are just memorable enough to be able to describe oklou’s music.

There are a few tumbleweeds in the bunch (“Dirt” is curiously overlong to begin the record; “Showdown” fails to make much of an impression), but this is about as good a curiosity that I would imagine a Julien Baker and TORRES country spinoff to be. It’s evocative, heartfelt fun.

With a smattering of new influences combined with the homage to their own past, Metallica’s 72 Seasons is another solid release in their discography. It’s an album that feels more consistent and original than anything they’ve done since the Load releases from forever ago.

Forcefield stands proudly on its own, a meat-and-potatoes rock record that swings for the FM fences and gets by on Monks’ considerable personality and the band’s seemingly limitless energy.

The Following Mountain illustrates a massive wealth of musical ability and endless directions to take that talent in. Even if it isn’t the most polished or focused piece, it’s a tantalizingly unpredictable listen that with the right molding and direction, could signal even better things to come for Sam Amidon and his fans.

This is a fun, sometimes moving project, extremely consistent and concise by the standards we apply to Kid Cudi since around 2013.

The Ballad of Darren presents itself as probably the most humble collection in the band’s catalog. With considerable pretentiousness stripped off, we catch a glimpse of sustained vulnerability rarely seen on their records. The sound is familiar, yet miles away from previous efforts.

His mastery of synths and the quality of his songwriting are apparent, but there also lies some regret that the album doesn't feature more vocals - Adigery's charisma and electricity sure helped Topical Dancer in that regard.

This is In Waves’s fatal flaw and greatest strength. It’s music that can’t help but hold on just a little too tight to ennui and cynicism, expressing the future a respite from the now in place of extending a flexible present.

Burials is secure in its intentions. It's not looking to push borders or dabble in a misremembered nostalgia. Burials' only goal is catharsis and that is why it succeeds.

No track wanders along aimlessly or over stays its welcome, as Salome is a perfectly constructed rock record. At times beautiful while at other times eerie, this is a debut not to be missed.

The record makes no indelible mark on your day--I imagine this skirting the periphery of most year-end lists, the perennial shut-out waiting flustered at the gates (“I’m sorry, you’re not on the list”)--but it’s detailed enough to add dimensions to the scene Burch sets.

his is the full realisation of the promise of blink-182 with Matt Skiba: the minor-key melodies and desolate lyrics of +44 brush up against a fully comfortable Skiba as lead vocalist, delivering his best vocals in fifteen years or more – all within the confines of a gleaming clean pop-punk production. ... The overproduction is frustrating both because his songwriting is at its best state in at least 10 years, and because for every generic pop moment there are subtle and fascinating production details to discover.

Another stylistic pivot in the future could prevent Waxahatchee from settling into too predictable of a groove, but even if she stays the course, it's clear with Tigers Blood that she's discovered a sustainable winning formula.

The Ghost of Orion is My Dying Bride’s best sounding album from a production standpoint, featuring some of Aaron’s most accomplished vocals, and guitar melodies that harken back to the days of The Angel and the Dark River, and it is a welcome addition to the My Dying Bride discography.

It offers a collection of solid tunes that were unlikely to ever be conceived. The excitement behind them is noticeable, yet overall they could have been trimmed for the standard release.

Last Place is a fittingly contented throwback/possible farewell.

That dichotomy between the visceral and the lackadaisical defines This Is Why instead of its value as a snapshot of this decade's global chaos, and in that sense, this LP is neither their best nor their "most mature." Regardless, there's nothing to stop you from reveling in this album's own chaotic dynamics, seriousness and passiveness juxtaposed. It's a worthy if mildly disappointing addition to Paramore's canon.

Though this isn't Maserati at their finest hour, it shows the engine is still running and possesses a lot of potential too. Their universe expanded with VII and Rehumanizer successfully brings all those influences together.

Their pre-NWOBHM influences continue to reign supreme in the best of ways, but this auditory backlash to all of the technology that we surround ourselves with on a day to day basis takes itself a bit too seriously for what most of us would come to expect from a Slough Feg record.

OKNOTOK will be of little interest to a passerby in a record store; its main value even for the die-hardiest of Radiohead fans is that little peek behind the curtain, a crack of light closer to understanding the way one of the most elusive bands in the world works.

Overall, it is an exciting era for FKA Twigs fans, as she continues her winning streak.

The record offers moments, candid and clear, of Rowe before the fame that'll surely head her way. It’s an opportunity to see what this artist is all about today.

The unfortunate harm that has come with Portnoy's dismissal is that the drum sections are now entirely bland and lack any real power. This combined with the band's decision to include three ballads are really the only things wrong with A Dramatic Turn of Events.

Ultimately, while there probably isn't anything here truly great enough to draw any more attention to the band, this is a perfectly good album that displays an awful lot of potential.

It's not very ambitious, it's not very original, and it's not very deep, but what it is is fun and what it does is give you a half hour to lose yourself in a little sun-dried nostalgia.

Endless Flowers is an album of summer anthems for those who like their beach days mixed in with a good dose of torrential summer downpours.

If, in 1970, a fusion between jazz and rock felt inevitable, it's only natural jazz's fusion aspect gets refreshed with electronics. That, along with its determination to improvise shit and try to come up with new sounds, is how London Brew successfully channels the legacy of its inspiration.

As a band, Yellow Ostrich is in its infancy, and it's forgiveable that they haven't quite found the best way to show their hand both as a unit and as separate entities at this stage.

It's not going to impress those that irrationally expect every release to be a mind-blowing exercise in progression and experimentation. On the other hand, it should impress long-time fans and satiate their desire for no-frills, in your face music.

It's Blitz will probably date badly and, despite clearly being better than "Fever To Tell," it probably won't be remembered by as many people, or as fondly by those people. Regardless, it IS a great album, and one that's come completely out of leftfield as far as its style and its depth goes.

There hasn't been a better blueprint for the New Pornographers' sound and mission, and, if all else fails, Together will certainly make you smile.

Maybe it doesn't have the relevance as the original album, and doesn't quite live up to the legacy, but it is intelligently composed and often moving.

While it's hardly a pop renaissance, It's Not Me, It's You is an appropriate follow-up to a debut that peaked not only because of its musical merits but also because of it's cultural catalysts.

This is a much, much more consistent album, it's got nothing as immediate as "Mansard Roof" or "A-Punk", and it moves a little toward the pop end of their sound, but other than that it's business as usual.

While Empty Days and Sleepless Nights offered songs that were entertaining enough without lyric booklet in hand, Letters Home is much more dependent on its story for emotional impact.

Overall, I is an interesting record, mainly due to Follakzoid’s uncompromising efforts to cross boundaries between electronic music and psychedelia. Nevertheless, it might be too much to take in in one setting, unless you really are in the mood or on drugs to drift away while listening.

The Brink is less immediate than all of the band's prior releases and is indeed a grower when given time to settle.

Listening to Centipede is like going through a garage filled with clutter.

Born to Die's highlights are both slightly more numerous and slightly more effective--but it's still a very strong, successful record, whether taken as an addition or a follow-up.

While it contains next to no filler, includes a sufficient amount of enjoyable anthems, and is musically accomplished (Ben Jolliffe's drums are especially impressive, the dual guitar attack is competent and the sparingly used keys are wise), Bones is predominantly a consolidatory release.

Bish Bosch is as much about challenging the people that absorbed and accepted Tilt and The Drift as it is challenging the rest of the world--and while that makes it consistent with all his work since Nite Flights, each subsequent album giving his fan base another hurdle to overcome, it also gives it a thrill that's unique to both his discography and the majority of the music you could compare it to. If, indeed, there is any.

Accelerate’s songs are generally well-constructed, almost to the point of being formulaic- eleven alternative pop songs with no excess fat around the edges.

Scars & Stories may be nothing more than a pleasant retread of The Fray's established style, but it does a commendable job of delivering quality in lieu of novelty.

In The Rainbow Rain is an uncommonly jaunty listen.

A solid, if formulaic, LP which clearly adheres to the K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) formula.

The range of emotions and material on display make The Best Damn Thing a much easier listen than the monotonous angst of Under My Skin.

Gargoyle marks another solid addition to an extensive catalog.

Hit Me Hard and Soft is a bold, well-crafted pop record rich with the personality of its creator, and like most such albums, it holds up just well if you take it as a face-value set of engaging, gratifying songs as if you mine it for complexity (aesthetic or lyrical).

Love What Happened Here is still another compelling listen from perhaps the biggest sensation of 2011.

This is a great album, perfect for a retro rave and I am happy to see the band reactivated. Hopefully, it won't take them another 7 years to release the next LP.

Myths of the Near Future is no classic- the highs don’t come fast enough to warrant that- but it’s a solid debut release from one of the least pretentious bands around.

While the most fitting genre to place Dr. Dog’s latest, We All Belong , in may be Indie-Pop, the 12 songs that make it up don’t sound a whole lot like The Shins or Death Cab for Cutie. We All Belong instead sounds like an album that was buried in Brian Wilson’s backyard for 40 or so years.

Another drug-induced and psychotic chapter in the kaleidoscopic and perplexing saga that is the life and times of one Quentin Dupieux.

Pfeffer is only 21 and already he has released an album that possesses a very original sound as well as an impressive amount of musicianship.

Overall, Attention: Deficit should be considered a successful debut, albeit mildly uneven.

Skeleta is the band’s most immediate and accessible release to date, it is also perhaps the least satisfying to early impressions, and recommends itself to a certain level of patience, paired with a prudent refusal to make the unflattering comparison to stronger versions of Ghost that populate their back catalogue. All issues thrust aside, listeners are left with a fun-loving, tasty-snack version of Ghost, regrettably lacking in satisfying meatiness, but absolutely caked in pretty frosting to make up for it.

These ten mostly filler-free tracks prove, Nada Surf only look to be growing more confident in their old age.

The primary drawback here is that even though the album does occasionally ascend to great heights, it spends at least the same amount of time strolling through monotonous buildups that never really reach their destinations.

While not enough to stand among the best the Pumpkins have to offer, Zeigeist nonetheless stands fairly well on it's own

Clear Heart Full Eyes is entirely at ease with itself, rarely forcing the issue beyond the gently affecting, but affecting is definitely the right word.

War Stories is another win for Lavelle.

Musically, he moved in a slightly different direction that works more often than not.