After The Disco displays a sense of focus that feels like the two musicians finally coming together as a band--although, unfortunately, the album is not quite as sonically diverse as one might hope.

At the end of the day, there is little doubt that listeners will enjoy The Satanist, because it provides in copious quantities what has made Behemoth a staple in the extreme metal community for over twenty years, while keeping their shortcomings to a minimum.

As a soundtrack, it works. Moody music fills the background, and in that respect it is largely a success. Yet as a standalone listen, the record is a weak and almost slap-dash display, with Arnalds feeling regrettably uninspired.

Even with the missteps and occasional ennui, Terrestrials is a welcome merger between two insuppressible forces in the industry today, which should leave us all curious about what their next cloak-and-dagger collaboration will sound like.

Trouble is a brave step forward for a band unafraid to test its limits and a frontwoman unable to see any.

Although Too True is not Dum Dum Girls’ finest hour--that would still be the cathartic Only in Dreams--it remains a commendable shift from an artist on the verge of being swallowed up by memory.

It is only Avron's aforementioned huge-sounding production which separates You Me At Six from hundreds of similar bands, meaning that Cavalier Youth is neither cavalier, nor youthful enough to take them to the next level.

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.

It is the soundtrack to every want and desire, and every wish and memory--but most of all, it is simply beautiful.

It is the last two tracks of EP2 that bring a little disappointment.

Transgender Dysphoria Blues might be the most important album of the year, and its message will hopefully seep into music culture and spread till records like this don’t *have* to get made anymore.

As far as simplistic and generic post-rock goes it’s fantastically inoffensive. Yet with the face of the genre ever changing, God is an Astronaut and their sixth are slowly becoming a relic of the past.

There’s something for everyone, and OCS do well to cater to a crowd who are afraid of falling with the rest of us into the future.

Talk of pretension aside, Rival Dealer is an important piece of work, a genuinely astounding and jaw-dropping release that deserves every pair of ears it can find.

Some of it wants to carry on the torch of its predecessor, other parts of it want to redefine Karnivool, and other parts don’t even seem to have any discernible purpose, like those god-awful interludes.

This is the kind of music Shearwater plays best--the it gives the band the space they need. It is a damned shame most of Fellow Travelers opposes this idea, with songs that are defined too rigidly for the Texan reimaginists.

Cupid Deluxe is by no means an imperfect record, but it is still a powerful reminder of how grossly underrated Dev Hynes is as an artist in his own right.

At a mere thirty-six minutes, it’s not a stretch to see Britney Jean as a half-baked effort, more of a commitment to be completed and shipped off than the labor of love it was touted as.

The good thing is that all songs have a character of their own and hence an appreciable replay value.

Too bad it doesn’t come together better as it merely buckles down into a messy heap of proggy tomfoolery.

It’s the kind of music that nobody, perhaps not even Moderat themselves, expected from this record.

On a very basic level Pre-Human Ideas may appear to be the work of an artist diving headfirst into insanity. But at its core the album is one of the most personal and engaging releases of Mount Eerie’s career.

Wooden Shjips succeed in making their material as easy listening and cool as possible, and tread on the trails of acclaimed artists such as Tom Petty.

At once highly inventive and unabashedly fun, the album showcases the trailblazing pop star at her most expansive thus far. M.I.A. adroitly capitalizes on her established style, embellishing it with moments of genuine intimacy.

The success here of being an album worth mention is derived from its encompassment of the past and present Marshall Mathers.

Artpop is the third album by pop recording artist Lady Gaga. Therefore it has similarities to her previous work but is inherently different because it is a different album.

It’s the sound of the world crumbling from overdoses of exhilaration, and it’s as rowdy and psychotic as we’ll all be in those final moments.

On their third outings most bands attempt to step up their game in terms of consistent songwriting. Instead, there's as many skippable tracks on this record as those worth revisiting. Mere competency is not sufficient to turn heads, especially in the year that abounds in high-quality stoner rock releases.