While there are elements to Days Gone By that still don't sit right, the album is an honest exploration of moods, and Bob Moses' unique combination of dance movement and introspective songcraft engages.

Even if parts of Ad Infinitum might not come off, it's worth remembering that Lerner had to teach himself how to play half the instruments featured from the ground up. Still in his 20s, it feels like the project is another string to his bow as a musician, rather than a defining turn of direction.

At times, the staggering length may make the album seem a little more "good night" than "good morning", but GO:OD AM is a place where quality and quantity coincide.

Gone By The Dawn is, at many turns, a lovely record. But it also seems to be a transitional record, as the group tries to find a more distinctive place for itself beyond '50s and '60s nostalgia.

Sun Coming Down already feels like a cult classic and an institution that embraces a thousand sides of the punk rock coin while retaining a steadfast originality.

Love + War is a flawed yet no less exciting debut from a talent who deserves every success in the world.

Helen have turned out an otherwise pleasing debut, and it's nice to hear Harris pushing her otherwise ghostly music into lusher and sunnier places, but it doesn't prevent The Original Faces from feeling a little underdeveloped and like a missed opportunity by the band to take the kind of music they are making in more interesting directions.

Cranekiss is a carefully crafted and wonderfully written record and beyond that it marks a new, exciting step in Tamaryn's career.

The resulting effort is a complete mess of an already insipid project yelling to be accepted as otherwise.

In terms of the surface tones and textures, the tracks in question are interesting enough--pretty, even. The underlying structures that govern these tones and textures, however, don't allow for anything approaching the band's typical intensity.

It's a thoroughly considered record, demonstrating that Rodriguez's personal and artistic growth are far from mutually exclusive.

It's just disappointing that in the midst of a year defined by monumental hip-hop albums, Travi$ Scott chose now as the time to come lukewarm.

There's always a sense of worry that once a band loses its chaotic edge, its youthful exuberance, it takes a step back, but this isn't quite the case with Foals on What Went Down.

Although The Names clocks in with just 9 tracks, the depth of theme, variety and overall production values give enough weight to the notion that Baio has bridged the gap from recreational hobby to serious solo artist.

[FIDLAR] could potentially translate many of these songs into excellent bangers during concerts. But for now, Too is an irritating and frustrating disappointment.

To its credit, it's very listenable and the band were having fun while recording it. However, the potential in lieu of this makes it that much sadder that Gardens & Villa didn't take more time to polish the sounds of last year's Dunes.

As a cohesive album, Beauty Behind The Madness showcases artistic growth and sonic progression through danceable pop deliveries like 'In The Night' and grand acoustics like 'Shameless'.

There are not many people out there doing retro-sounding albums that aren't a mere repetition of something that's already been done several years before (and probably better), but Diane Coffee manages to be hopelessly nostalgic without sounding déjà vu.

The laziness of lyrical passages, directionless structures, odd lyric rip-offs ('Goon Line' and 'Void' are culprits), and poor mixing works together with the band to hold this record down much lower than its potential.

The songs are each densely packed musically, but so taught and unpredictable that it's clear that they are the vision of a single creative mind. Angel Deradoorian's mind is vibrant and open, and on The Expanding Flower Planet she's inviting you for a visit.

There's no faulting the album--it's stunning and well worth your time and money, but it's not their masterpiece, their seminal album. But that's hardly a criticism.

Although Stuff Like That There drags a bit, it's lovely to think that Yo La Tengo parse through their history as closely as their biggest fans do.

On Hermits on Holiday they have knocked out nine fascinating tracks with effortless skill.

Needless to say, despite its seemingly slight 29-minute length, High packs in more than enough ideas, hooks and moments of pure emotion that it will not wear out anytime soon.

If you've already heard 2002's tenth-anniversary reissue of the group's debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, then you've already heard everything compiled here.

A captivating and downright fun little album, but it does feel just like a little side project--some friends just having a mess around--than a proper juicy album.

Sometimes, plucking a dandelion from between the cracks of the sidewalk, "just because", is transcendent. And Seraph is one of the prettiest damn dandelions in quite some time.

Compton exists now as a reminder to the current oversaturated pit of modern rap that legends aren't born overnight and there will never be another Dr. Dre. Hip-hop's first billionaire hasn't forgotten where he comes from so let's not forget what he's done to get here.