It does nothing to distinguish itself from other BR releases and some of the premier punk albums released in the past few years, but it also can immediately trump most of the stuff being put out these days on the virtue of BR's tight and likable style.

A handful of jukebox-friendly hard rock tracks and a thoroughly replayable album is almost as good an outcome as could be expected from this group of aging rockers.

Easy Tiger is at least Adams' best release since Love is Hell and it may even be the long awaited successor to Heartbreaker.

The songs just are just way inferior this time around. My December’s fourteen tracks (including the hidden "Chivas") sound like rough sketches fleshed out with Breakaway’s light rock arrangements.

Desire is an amazing record the story of Monch and his recording career is admirable in its own right.

Icky Thump, despite the presence of some simply insane over-indulgence, is a great album.

Most of the album is still enjoyable, however, and certainly provides some new ideas for instrumental rock music.

Devoid of any country heart, country soul, or country swing, if Bon Jovi had started out a country band and decided to play mainstream rock, this is what it would sound like.

In the end this is a nice EP to play and a timely release considering the season and what they're releasing it right before.

All of these tracks are listenable and easy to digest- some are just notably better than others.

A spunky, Hayley-driven vehicle that nonetheless proves that Paramore justly deserves whatever critical acclaim it was getting.

The production quality does most of the work here, because when you listen, everything seems relatively simple. And that’s not a bad thing by any means.

Carry On is not a bad album, nor is it a good one.

Ma Fleur is a triumphant return for The Cinematic Orchestra.

Its a richly textured, layered, and almost earnest stab at everything this artist ever attempted to do before, all rolled up nice on one album.

If Alligator was The National's first masterpiece then Boxer is surely their second, a 12-song journey that thoroughly exemplifies everything that a modern rock band should be capable of.

Some listeners may find the album samey or too similar but one aspect of Mirrored that can't be disputed is that it is a unique album with little to no similar peers.

These are all songs that you would have trouble getting out of your head, and It Won’t Be Soon Before Long is the second coming and establishing factor of Maroon 5 as the pop band of the century thus far.

Release The Stars, if not a step forward, is at worst a side-step en route on to a knockout album.

Our Earthly Pleasures, in contrast to the water-tight radio punk of its predecessor, overflows with ideas, even if it’s to the detriment of the material.

Volta is a strong album with memorable, remarkable tracks that have great variety, so much that the album loses cohesion.

God Save the Clientele is a good record: mellow, pretty and, at times, quite fun.

Human the Death Dance may not be perfect and perhaps not even an improvement for fans, but regardless, it's full of wonderful moments that should satisfy fans and serve as a great introduction for newcomers.

The material is of a consistently high standard, nary a clunker in the bunch, but while many will be surprised by Send Away The Tigers, few will be bowled over.

Ranging from dense electronica to stark piano ballads to an amalgamation of indie pop, electronica, and concert orchestra, The Magic Position envisions a magical world where Wolf has everything he could ever want at his disposal.

A masterful little work of sonic soundscapes, dark edges, muted colors, and low, simmering sexuality.

Beyond’s main flaws come in a lack of variety.

Tears of the Valedictorian is easily one of the best records of the year.

Meet the new Rush, same as the old Rush....and as it turns out after all these years that's a pretty good thing.

There is nothing radical or daring about the faithfully rendered tunes we find on Twelve.

For the first time, the band is inconsistent.

A very fun listen.

The album almost has a mix-tape esque feel to it and the staggering amount of guests has much to do with this.

Unfortunately, he forgot he cannot sing or write coherent lyrics.

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.

Make no mistake this is NIN as usual, but [it is] an effortless, inspired, and unaffected Trent Reznor the likes of which we may not have had the pleasure of knowing for almost a decade and a half.

Fantastic lyrical concepts, an improved musicianship and the addition of an orchestra make Cassadaga easily the most enjoyable Bright Eyes album as a whole.

23 has a lack of contrast, and that is really its only flaw.

Adventures is a record that is just as quirky as it is brilliant.

In many ways it's more of the same, but it does seem to improve upon the formula ever-so-slightly.

This album is a swirl of pure emotions and grandiosity, but is never overbearing, never feeling like anything more than your own personal score. Thus, it’s completely brilliant.

For all its inadequacies, Dignity is a solid, cleverly-constructed pop album.

Steingarten is a unique take on ambient/glitch inspired music however it’s lack of musical progression brings it down.

Distinguishing themselves from the shadow of Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and the like without sacrificing too many of the essential elements of their debut album, The Academy Is… have emerged as a band with ambition and the songwriting skill to match.

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.

Yours Truly, Angry Mob is such a sloppily put-together album that it almost seems intentionally bad.

The production quality is a crowning grace throughout the album in the face of some very dodgy writing and bad musical choices.

What we get is listless by the numbers "latin rock", dull, sleepy ballads, and overblown Diva numbers I wouldn't wish on Whitney Houston.

The massive dip in quality towards the end, including the progressive worsening through closing, bonus and hidden tracks, is disappointing, considering how well the album begins.

The great thing about this album is the same as was great about the last full length LCD Soundsystem album, and that is its effortless blend and execution of mix.

At times, it can be a difficult piece of work and its dark themes may require a few spins to grow on the listener. Irrespective, Drums and Guns is a fine piece of work, Low's best since Things We Lost in the Fire.

It's different, its harder, and its honestly a bit of a disappointment.

Introducing Joss Stone has the sound of an artist who is beginning to go places, not of one coming from somewhere or standing still.

It’s safe to say that, Person Pitch just might be album of the year (so far, at least).

For the most part Hats Off To The Buskers is second-tier British post-punk.

Back To Black is by far the best popular soul album I’ve heard this year.

Bouncy bass and catchy vocals keep it going, but sometimes it seems Albert Jr. has nothing substantial to fall back on.

Most of these songs are melancholy and soft, waiting for a darkened sky to play to.

It's about as good as Funeral and features some truly wonderful songs; although The Arcade Fire have certainly progressed, Neon Bible features everything that made them special in the first place, to even more epic proportions.

Cringe-worthy lines are unfortunately rampant through The Weirdness’s (long) forty minutes.

His conception of melody and harmony is well above the average hip-hop artist, but the album as a whole is very flat and boring.

You, You're a History in Rust is nothing short of an experience; emotional enough to take the listener on a journey, and subtle enough so that not a moment of the record feels contrived.

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.

While clearly it is their best work to date, the purposefully epic moments of the music just don’t hold the same candle to the ones that were found on their earlier records.

Despite pulling out all the stops towards the end, The Cost is everything The Frames usually eschew: it’s bland, it’s monotonous and it barely achieves a tempo shift across forty-four minutes.

Copia is Cooper’s greatest work to date, but it leaves even more roads for him to take.

A masterpiece of edgy, pop-infused rock composed with intelligence.

Essentially, Infinity On High is From Under The Cork Tree, except this time done well.

It is something brand new and completely unexpected.

Norah Jones has the potential to be one of the defining singers of the decade, but her songwriting needs to take on more styles and more voices.

Busdriver gives his best performance thus far.

Hella is stuck in the realm of Yowie -- playing with excellent ideas, but too stuck on defining themselves with an all too familiar genre.

While the album as a whole is far from being perfect, moments of it are some of the most gorgeous and interesting things I have heard.

Most of The Bird and the Bee is average, albeit highly danceable and fun, Pop music: worth the download, but hardly the purchase.

Yusuf hasn't missed a beat, as this is still the same sound he made famous on 70s staple "Tea for the Tillerman" and later perfected on "Teaser and the Firecat", and while it's certainly not as impactful, I'm comfortable saying that "An Other Cup" comes pretty close.

It's like the debut, but slightly different, definitely better.