Electric Wizard are arguably the most revered band of the doom metal genre since Black Sabbath themselves, and on Time To Die, they remind us why.

The LP is constructed, played and sung with acute skill, but all done without a hint of pizzazz, little colour, vibrancy or peculiarities--it's all a lackadaisical tumble of synth and guitar.

Ultimately, the Growlers’ sunny disposition and incredibly natural, economical style of songcraft carries them through Chinese Fountain, an album which manages the impressive feat of leaving the listener both utterly satisfied and hungry for more.

Innerworld is a bit of a mixed bag, but one that's absolutely worth dipping into--every now and then you'll pull out some real gems.

The Rural Alberta Advantage bring enough intelligence and thoughtfulness to their music to ensure that it’ll appeal to listeners who wouldn’t normally like to admit to listening to soaring, emotionally open indie rock.

It's not often you heard a near seven minute pop song that leaves you wanting more, but Mr. Twin Sister manage to pull it off several times over in just under half an hour.

Something Shines is a continuation of that frustration: so many wonderful moments let down by times where it sounds like Laetitia Sadier just isn’t completely focused, meaning it’s a record that’s okay, but one that could have been great.

It’s hugely to Owens’ credit that he’s turned his hand at a slew of different styles in assured fashion to date, but neither this album nor Lysandre really hold the universal pop appeal of Girls’ output, either.

At their best, when not wandering along in a gilded fog--much of This Is All Yours is akin to meandering in a pretty, if tiring, gloam.

An experience that's exhilarating, frenetic and gratifying.

Richard D. James is back, and he’s still absolutely untouchable.

It’s thirty five years of dance music history wrapped up in a glorious fifty minutes and with Whang at the helm, it’s encased with an icy sheen, impossible to resist.

Sukierae’s the kind of a record where almost every listen provides different favourite moments. That has to be a very good indicator of its overall merits.

Hadreas finally appears to have found a sound palette as provocative, forward-thinking and confrontational as his vehement, brave lyrical style.

It’s going to be hard for Albini, Weston and Trainer to ever top what we find on Dude Incredible. Worthy of filing alongside and above At Action Park and 1000 Hurts, it’s the sound of one of the great bands at the height of their powers.

What we hear is a man playing conductor, curator, ringmaster, director--a brilliant facilitator, yet one never quite able to hold his own on the stage of his making.

It’s not all as instantly catchy as its opening track, but you can bet it’s a grower, post-break-up or not.

Worship The Sun definitely won’t disappoint fans of their self-titled debut, and the extra production values only adds to their refreshingly carefree style. A perfect album to hang onto the last remnants of long, hazy summer days.

Encyclopedia might not be a record to soundtrack cheery bank holiday getaways, but it provides enough counter-attack to its own bleakness that it's not an inherently malicious listen (although it does have its moments).

The record works perfectly as a coda to what sounded like an unusually comfortable period in Spencer’s life. It’s not quite as unadorned, not quite as intimate, as Julia--opener “The Fog” has its title represented by jarring clouds of synths which break through the eight note motif that underpins the entire song--but you can still tell that all fifteen of Piano Man Spencer’s songs came from the same place.

This is an album both challenging and gorgeous-sounding. If occasionally over-ambitious, it is always attention-grabbing, and very often risk-taking in the most positive sense.

Her world beats obvious veneer while her crack at electronica too half-baked to portray as much more than Pro Tools tinkering, even with her ballyhooed use of Clams Casino behind the board.

An adventurous artistic growth is surely on the horizon for this blossoming young band, but on The Dew Lasts An Hour, Ballet School quickly found out what technique works for them and where their creative strengths lie.

Do What You Want To, It’s What You Should Do--isn’t really revelatory in any sense, though it’s an irrefutably gorgeous document.

It’s refreshing that the most appealing parts of Whorl are when the duo abandon exactly the musical nuances they’re known for. At the very least they should be applauded for exploring new territory, even if the overall record is not entirely satisfying.

Twin Peaks somehow manage to translate the last ten years of American guitar music into a 40 minute package that will help you remember why you fell in love with all of the bands which ‘changed your life’ in the first place.

Lost in Alphaville is sometimes a little too adrift in its own world and its own thoughts of sound to make sense today.

If you want audio gastronomy, go elsewhere. If, however, you just want some good ol’ dirty pop, pull up a chair and get stuck in.