RTJ 3 is both a sprinter’s dip and a victory lap – it is neither as sinewy as RTJ 1 nor as effusively vivacious as 2014’s RTJ 2, but still finds itself imbibed with the kind of assured professionalism that is only permitted to those who have previously done enough to be granted a low-pressure outing.

Thankfully, Vol. 3 takes full advantage of its longer runtime, stretching into more places than the fairly self-contained first two volumes could

It just finds this fantastic middle ground, not only in the way that its frantic smattering of ideas somehow presents not as overwhelming, but comforting - the exuberance infectious, the fuzz electric - but, also, in how Night Palace ties in with the broader Elverum catalogue.

Hedvig Mollestad Trio have stepped up their game in every aspect, coming out with an instrumental album that's dexterously performed, often inventive and always compelling.

This is the kind of record that never loses sight of a desire to learn and change. Whenever Remind Me Tomorrow circles in on starry-eyed nostalgia -- that vile, misleading thing -- it rearranges the fabric of its composition and converts idealism to retrospect.

Dope Body have managed to modulate their sound without watering down the characteristics that made them unique in the first place. In consequence, Lifer is a ferocious record that deftly coalesces noise rock with early grunge and psychedelic flourishes. It's a trip down memory lane well worth taking.

Monomania demands an undivided attention and continuous play to truly see the beauty within its surrealism.

Change is what led them to write the album they needed to, and in turn, left us listeners with the album we needed to hear. Change reminds us that we didn’t know Every Time I Die like we thought we did--but they sure read us to a tee with From Parts Unknown.

What the album lacks in refinement and songwriting polish, it gains in the unflagging energy these tunes emanate.

Spoon’s bravest excursions to date, brilliant and distinct in their own way.

For all intents and purposes Clairo’s debut album, Immunity proves to be everything that people who’ve watched her ascent could hope for. She has set the stage to dominate her own slice of the forlorn indie-pop niche, alongside peers like Baker, Heynderickx, and Soccery Mommy.

To put it mildly, Little Dark Age isn’t a success story, nor is it a comeback for anyone other than the most nerdish and devoted of us, and it doesn’t matter anyway. This isn’t the best this band has sounded in years, it’s the best they’ve ever sounded.

No matter what musical approach is being explored on Is This The Life We Really Want?, it never abandons being clever and lyrically adept.

A non-household album by an oft-overlooked electronic artist/producer, Queen of Golden Dogs is an intriguing, mysteriously intelligent dark horse of a record. Fans of broader electronic/experimental pieces, prepare to be delighted in the delirious lunacy of Vessel’s apex-to-date.

We've Been Going About This All Wrong reflects on the darkest moments of her earliest work with a newfound sense of confidence and control fully discovered in the Remind Me Tomorrow era.

These two seemingly disparate parts combine in an off-putting but refreshingly rough-and-tumble way.

The album's congruence in theme, tempo, and tone is both consistent and coherent. Together with Butch Walker, Catherine Popper, and long-time running mates Ian Perkins and Alex Rosamilia (among others), Painkillers is a carefully-cultivated record that Fallon categorically needed to write.

One Of Us Is the Killer is the explosion all of us were hoping it’d be, and yes, lethal as ever--now it’s just easier to pick up the pieces afterwards.

Big Ups combine the elements in such a way that compliments their signature style without ever compromising their identity; Before a Million Universes will almost certainly be one of the most interesting punk releases of 2016 because of that.

Bandana is terrific because it makes you yearn for that imagined history, the struggle from page to audio that surely happened to produce such a god-given chemistry. Freddie's deep, choppy flows might initially seem somewhat at odds with Madlib's production but that's why it works, because playing too much to the soul-soaked nostalgia robs the proceedings of their bite.

On Little Oblivions, she's taken the spaces in her music that used to be empty and filled them with churning, beautiful noise.

Filled to the brim with consistently excellent songs, Once More 'Round The Sun serves as a blueprint of how to go commercial without sacrificing one's artistic identity.

The Now Now feels shockingly complete.

Whether or not you’re a fan of their earlier, grittier material or their newer, more polished recordings, Is Survived By is a massively engaging and surprisingly triumphant record, and you cant expect anything but for them to continue to add to their ranks of love-moshing fans with an album that is just so damn solid.

Make no mistake, the payoff that Promises promises is by no means immediate. This is music to savour with eyes closed in a dark room, headphones on and all other distractions firmly yeeted from sight.

Physical Thrills demands your focus and immersion, a clear sign that Silversun Pickups are accessing their artistic side and perhaps better than they ever have before. What felt like a band in decline just a few short years ago has been given a shot in the arm.

The Worse Things Get is a listen that tears and breaks, an album defiant and loud as often as it is anxious and sad.

All in all, Scurrilous succeeds at all levels. It takes the tediousness out of technicality, and injects more hooks than a tackle box into the Protest the Hero formula.