While Midnight is, overall, a somewhat flawed record, it still shows impressive growth for Chura. Like Messes, it doesn’t settle into the oft-tread indie rock rut of bland, cliché emotionality, while the songwriting is clearly leagues ahead of her debut.

It's lovely to hear an album that ostensibly requires so few ingredients to paint such a rich emotional landscape.

In spite of its sequencing, every song on Cemetery Highrise Slum is individually good.

Boys Forever is almost built to act as the soundtrack to the end of the dog days, when you just want a lovely track to wrap up the best moments with your friends.

At times it seems to be too much under the influence of My Bloody Valentine--even the cover art evokes them--and their contemporaries, yet it does what it does very well and it would be harsh to overlook the fact that this is a strong debut in its own right.

Although standalone each song is catchy and refreshingly danceable, they don't add up towards a comprehensive album experience. There is little variation from the funk-punk, and slower tracks like 'Flee!' feel weaker to their more nervy counterparts.

This album certainly does mark a “departure” for Siobhan Wilson, but it sheds none of her allure.

For someone who makes music so precise and demanding, this means that Flying Lotus’ latest album is a harder one to digest, and ultimately isn’t quite as essential as his previous.

Mercurial moods aside, it's a beautifully produced record and almost addictive with the allure of its sublime tones, percussive arrangements that draw you in and an attractive coil of guitar phrasings.

With Kintsugi, the cracks in the Death Cab veneer are undoubtedly visible, shiny or not. While many of the tracks fall flat, the vestiges of their prior form--confession and melody and, ultimately, charm--will likely still be evident enough to keep fans enamored. 


Sivu has naturally but powerfully created a palette of sensory strength, allowed into existence and our listening pleasure simply by being vulnerable and open to both the endurance and the departure of senses--and all that we feel, fear and hold dear.

Although its most inviting moments come tucked away in the calmer less darker IDM influenced tracks. Similar to laughter, this music doesn't necessarily have to mean anything in order to give us deep pleasure.

Full Upon Her Burning Lips requires patience from the listener as its contemplative pace offers multiple rewards on repeat plays. There is a depth to the album which is more evident with an enhanced investment from the audience as layers are revealed in the aural panoramic panacea that are hidden within the subtext of the songs.

Love Is Magic is his most consistent and enjoyable work yet.

Son Lux's remix value is through the roof, settling nicely along the lines of Purity Ring's debut, The xx, or even some of Thom Yorke's solo tracks. That said, each of these examples are revered, but not lived up to.

Young Magic's second full-length is arguably a more accomplished body of work than Melt, which although also very strong, doesn't have the same congealed feel.

PeteStrumentals 2 is exactly the album you'd expect it to be. Similar to the '78 Fury, we aren't chasing the latest here.

It will take a patient, contemplative listener to fully appreciate the picture that emerges.

This is a solid, fun-loving post-punk record that definitely leans heavy on the punk.

Despite remaining dutifully authentic to his own back-story and expressive temperament, the album, at times, sounds like it was written and recorded years ago, offering outdated production trends and repetitive content.

There are some tracks here which are absolutely the best in their class, but it's just a shame that as a whole the collection is weighed down by moments that don't shine as bright as others.

Six Organs of Admittance has rightly earned a reputation for innovation, but with Hexadic, Chasny risks straying too far from the realm of palatable sound.

Uniform pull their weight but it feels like they’re (smartly) saving their strongest material for their upcoming third LP. As for The Body, they’ve shown they can play well with others, but here they feel like they’re indifferently inserting themselves into Uniform’s world, and Uniform was fine with it. It’s an album that aims to make you uncomfortable, but it feels too comfortable with itself.

On the basis of Pump’s youth and energy, it’s a mostly enjoyable listen, but those are traits not at all unique to him, and it’s hard to feel optimistic about how much longevity he has. After all, he’s not getting any younger.

The quality of dialogue on display is--though well-intentioned--kitsch and sustained by hollow jingoisms. The result is something benevolent, musically interesting and occasionally provocative, but rather too one-dimensional thematically to overcome its slightness.

If you’re a Segall fan then these open you up to his influences, while also offering more of an insight into an artist who continues to both be reclusive and impressively prolific.

In bitesize chunks this is a sumptuous feast--but it's more buffet than banquet.