Not unlike The Heroin Diaries, their latest effort suffers at times from inconsistency and filler, but at its very best, it’s a collection of highly engaging anthems that accomplish exactly what they set out to do.

The Other One takes its metal/pop influences and fuses them into a seamless sound that trades Kawaii for seriousness and atmosphere. While it might be initially disappointing to lose a decade of Babymetal influences, it was probably time and the more mature and serious Babymetal sound is still as captivating as always.

Period is an album of lukewarm nostalgic bops, where the few moments of truly interesting artistry are left to languish alone in their respective corners. It’s by no means a poor record if you’re just in it for some lighthearted background party jams.

Even though it might not rank as essential Brian Jonestown Massacre, Revelation is a lovely experience.

It's a dark, gorgeous, twisted, spine-tingling experience that is able to pull off such a decelerated pace because it owns that pace entirely, injecting it with haunting rhythms and naturalistic beauty.

While Angles lacks a definite image, it is the band's best purely musical statement, and as the band members explore their 30s, perhaps it is time for them to retire their young, aggressive punk image and become successes in the first sense of the word -- strictly musical.

Despite being a solid, sometimes gorgeous album of songs from a very well-matched collaboration of artists, Unmap’s ultimate effect will be whetting appetites everywhere for the next Bon Iver record.

The band is out of gas and has been for a while now. Wonderful Wonderful fills the same role as Battle Born, taking mid-tempo pop-rock with aimless verses and marrying them to one stab-at-the-radio chorus after another.

Home is a sometimes captivating, occasionally flawed, but always intriguing release.

The discarded Carrie & Lowell tracks will not disappoint any fans who revere that album and should thus be acquired--independent from the whole album--if need be. As the remixes stand, they’re fairly inoffensive on their own, but will likely not sit well with those who have developed a personal connection to the original cuts.

A rousing vessel in which Wolf has finally had the chance to channel his newfound zany confidence into his most extravagant and captivating record yet.

Yes, viewed on its own merits, Born This Way is a slightly above-average, if patronizing pop album that knows its own strengths and plays to them.

It’s an album surprisingly even in its delivery, if a little underwhelming in content, somewhat reserved and unquestionably safe.

The Fame isn’t a defining moment in pop culture, but it is a promising sign for Lady GaGa, with plenty to dance to.

The Final Frontier is the kind of record that takes several listens to truly appreciate, but it's definitely worth it.

The album is just standard rock/alternative affair.

Duffy is a major talent, and Rockferry is little short of outstanding.

The record's ADD can be felt with every unbridged leap between ideas to its shocking lack of transitions, and the whole time there is this pervading sense that Heritage doesn't really have anything to say at all.

There isn’t as much outright variety as there was on Impossible Past, but there are subtle refinements that make Rented World perhaps the most musically solid album the band has released.

Dr. Dog stands on the shoulders of the band’s other modern efforts. If it’s quality indie-rock you’re seeking, then this is an album that you simply shouldn’t overlook. Dr. Dog is back.

A cohesive and complete album in the world of Southern rap.

While this record's predecessor was the definition of a mixed bag, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night is markedly reliable - a product that you're likely to either take or leave in its entirety.

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.

Impeccably produced, Conditions is a legitimate contender for debut album of 2009.

Sennett's overwhelming perfectionism, his pursuit for the ideal pop song, is just as likely to submerge him in soft rock cliches and painfully obtuse lyricism as it is likely to lead him to an aces country-rock tune that sounds like the best song Fleetwood Mac never made.

Essentially, Still Night, Still Life is a fun, carefree listen and doesn't pretend to be anything more. As an added bonus, it's also a clear improvement over the band's past works as well.

Eight albums into their career, Jimmy Eat World still know how to generate and craft some brilliant songs, but most importantly, they continue to demonstrate a keen sense for how to connect with any audience.

This could well have been a much better album than it is. Still, there's enough here to indicate that Nash's obvious natural flair for songwriting will blossom, and that her fearless voice will only get better with experience.