Which isn’t to say that she gets everything right--the new arrangements of both Killer and Georgia lack the immediacy of their originally released versions--but when she does, you can see her making a long career of this.

Overall, V feels like a consolidation of all of the strengths that The Horrors have built up over the last ten years, tightly bundled and perfectly accessible without sacrificing any of their artistic integrity.

Sløtface’s songs reach out to a disenfranchised youth, much like the pop-punk bands that dominated the airwaves in the late 90s and early 00s did. Although the band members may be too young to remember that time, they are doing a good job of making those who can nostalgic for it.

The studio mix is excellent, and sample-heavy interludes provide a welcome break from what at times seems like a label compilation. One unifying thread, however, is the playground-fidelity sampling and the prominent, plucky bass, which gives the album a Parliament-ish, heavy funk overtone.

The RATM members still manage to stir genuine, potentially powerful emotions, but the tracks never get too far before ruinous effects, puerile 'all right' choruses, and chiming end rhymes cause them to collapse.

Lunice wisely gives ample room to his collaborators. As impressive as the beats are in their complexity, a special mention is necessary for the MCs who deftly weave words in between Lunice’s polyrhythms.

L.A. Witch's dreamy, gothic take on garage rock is more about atmosphere than message, but you'll find plenty of devil in their details.

Light Information is a mixed bag of indie rock gems, ramshackle in sound and structure, but there are clear lyrical themes.

he languid mid-tempo tones are certainly pleasant and, on the likes of Wildwood, sometimes capture a sense of achingly beautiful melancholia. Still, you’re left longing for Amos’s social commentary to be laced with just a little more venom to truly conjure the state of upheaval in the world.

Dripping in catharsis that seems to pour straight from Danilova’s soul, Okovi is rarely an easy listen, even when it’s at its most accessible. But it’s also profound, and Zola Jesus’ most emotionally stirring record to date.

The album does get a little bit repetitive towards its climax. Overall The National have survived their electronic ring of fire relatively unscathed.

The result is more tacky than glam. If you’re in it for the jokes, Hippopotamus is worth the effort.

Love What Survives offers a scattergun approach to ideas, sounds and voices, and it could be their greatest record yet. With a looser grip, Mount Kimbie dip and dive through myriad musical worlds.

Antisocialites is a much more rugged and varied listen. This is Alvvays pushing the jangle pop envelope, and the perfect album for when sunny summer turns to antisocial autumn.

Toy is a more-than-worthy successor to last year’s excellent Pile opus, gnawing away at your affections with carefree abandon--an oversized canine you’ll be glad to see off the leash.

What is said is interesting, and delivered with a fiery ferocity worthy of the howling big cat on the cover, but too often the dissonant noise serves to exemplify the disconnect between the engaging ideas and the impotence of their presentation.

An album that functions seamlessly as a listen-in-one-sitting affair, with enough memorable stand-alone moments to keep the club contingent happy, Bicep's debut is a clear front-runner for best house record of the year.

Earl Grey delivers eleven thoughtful, quirky tracks which deserve to be listened to again and again.

[The] spirit of reflection bleeds into Every Country’s Sun, their latest effort, which draws and borrows themes and styles from across their career to build a whole as monumental as anything they’ve achieved so far.

It's a low-key record for a certain type of listener--this isn't a band clamouring for arena-rock status, just one that is happy making good music and having fun doing it.

American Dream feels like Murphy's darkest record to date, and like previous LCD records, only gets better with repeat listens. In short, it's fucking glorious.

Good Nature plods along at a pleasant pace, but there's nothing here you won't have heard elsewhere before.

This is easily the Long Island band's most mature album, in that it acknowledges and improves on many of the band's past misdemeanours.

To listen to Photay, meanwhile, is to be continually taken aback by new sounds and sensations, and to marvel at how artfully Shornstein dissolves them together.

Shah's rich musical palette smartly frames her lyrical acumen; crisp horns colour Relief’s spartan groove.

Anderson has all but perfected a very delicate balance. She presents subjects boldly and forcefully, but also with a great deal of sensitivity and thought-provoking tact. The questions she presents here will linger long after its final notes fade out.

While stylistically The War on Drugs have never released anything revolutionary, A Deeper Understanding lacks that spark that their previous releases had, which could well be due in part to their move to a new major label home.

While previous Oh Sees tunes have tended toward explorations of mood, spread out over a krautrock-scented riff or two, here individual songs find themselves bursting at the seams with ideas.