It is not as good as the ARIA awards will undoubtedly make it out to be but still one of the better mainstream listens of the year.

It’s a competent album, fun and succinct enough for a worthwhile playthrough but too full of yesterday’s novelty to shrug off the why here? why now? concerns destined to orbit any comeback record. Individual listeners will find their own ways to make peace with this, but I struggle to view it as more than a back-to-basics top-up from an act that had very little to prove. Blessed and cursed with a handful of the most talented names in rock, it’s equal parts a welcome return and a missed opportunity.

It's a solid album by anyone's standards, and a real testament to Four Tet's unassuming mastery that he folds such a range of stylings together without any individual one going out of its way to announce itself as such (we'll forgive the geetar).

Celestite feels like it is more than just a simple companion piece to Celestial Lineage, and there is more than a Cascadian black metal band behind the subtle guitars and massive synths of Celestite: there is an idea that is beginning to take root.

So sigh with me; for all the promise their reunion had, they sound as if they're remembering how to work together, painting their album by numbers rather than taking risks or adding artistic flourishes of their own.

First Flower feels like a reclusive album emotionally, lyrically, and musically--but it’s one that actively strives to break through. It feels like being trapped inside your own thoughts, battling with the kinds of choices that incrementally alter your life on a daily basis.

What’s frustrating is the way in which Typhoons signals the less ambitious intentions of a band surely destined for more, such that its inconsistencies compound and shortcomings shine.

Through the Window distinguishes itself as a welcomed change of pace for the artist and a standout addition to the extensive Prurient catalog.

There’s so much room for everything to breath and flourish. Olympic Girls takes it slow, and we’re given the perfect chance for reflection through the mid-tempo bliss.

Whilst by no means an unmitigated disaster, Michael fails to do much of anything beyond that which we already knew was well within its namesake’s capabilities.

In short, Wish on the Bone is an excellent album, whether your preference is more on the indie rock or the alt-country side.

While it's hard not to succumb to the subtle disappointment inherent in hearing an artist you love make such a sudden shift in sound, beyond that initial disappointment is an album that is the artist’s maturest to date. An album that is, somehow, equal-parts icy and warm; which progresses, despite this contrast, with an ease that is masterful; and which, inevitably, leaves me curious and yearning for LPs 3-7.

Though I can't say this album has as many of these killer tracks as Xiu Xiu's previous albums, Women as Lovers is a satisfying installment for fans of Xiu Xiu's singular style.

Rivers' lyrics are just as bad as they've always been, the band's sense of pop-song structure is still the backbone of every track, but that doesn't matter when everyone is having fun.

With Ritual in Repeat, Tennis have crafted the most affecting record of their short career and purged the emptiness too often lurking behind the facade of similar artists, not to mention their own past work.

This is a special piece of music, and one that is all the more likely to impress because of how unexpectedly it departs from the formula laid out in Part 1. As both a standalone piece and as a counterpart to its predecessor, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2 is a towering achievement.

As it stands, Wild Crush is their most complete, well-rounded and accessible record to date.

Who Will Look After the Dogs? is a long way from a perfect record, but this is no obstacle to respecting it on its own terms — as a sadsack burnout trip from a band that has lost sight of almost all its past brilliance and knows it, but still has enough dignity to own its scrappy qualities for what they are, rather than inadvertently collapsing into them (The Unraveling of PUPTheBand) and/or self-consciously hawking them (per The Unravelling of PUPThegoddamnedBAND).

Go Tell Fire to the Mountain and WU LYF by extension soar on how excitingly singular they are; I want nothing more than to love this, just this, forever.

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 album is packed full of glossy guitar riffs, silly sing a long lyrics, and bombastic arena-rock choruses.

Guns is a fun album, made for fun people, but that doesn’t mean that instants of awkwardness don’t result.

Tomboy doesn't speak loud enough for us to hear it. It hums, rather; it mumbles. It actually can't speak.

Last Place is a fittingly contented throwback/possible farewell.

Eremita has the makings of something excellent, especially given the quality of the guest performances and the sheer creative vision that Tveitan holds within himself.

For an album heavily predicated on Adams' historically hit-or-miss songwriting, Ashes & Fire is surprisingly steady.

The album is the result of its own thought process, and ultimately becomes the most revealing thing Lekman has written, even if it is his most succinct record.

Thrice Woven may be credited with returning this Olympian outfit on the right path but ultimately, Primordial Arcana combines the band’s better features into one, defining release.