In rippling the delving guitars and gripping drums with a tenacity that is tough to deny, The Acacia Strain find themselves again with just the right recipe--giving us a much more concentrated opportunity for catharsis in the key of anger.

Failed States is the band's best release to date.

The genius of Lights Out is that it packs a punch without any gimmicks.

Aside from a few solid, unspectacular pop-rock songs though, ¡Dos! Has only one thing to offer: it makes ¡Uno! sound a hell of a lot better.

From its atmospheric nineties leanings to Bellamy's consistently on-the-mark channeling of Bono, it's not too hard to imagine The 2nd Law having a similar legacy ten or twenty years down the road: not a great album, but an adventurous one.

While country music press (and even some Top 40 radio stations) champion Miranda Lambert for her spunk, zest and exuberance, the fact of the matter is plenty of female singer-songwriters have just as much spunk, zest or exuberance. Rosie Flores is no exception. Working Girl's Guitar is proof of that.

Such storytelling songwriting on Close The Distance is unmatched by anything Lancaster has ever penned--and I mean ever.

It might take a moment to sink in, but the return of Verse to both touring and recording has reaped its most challenging disc to date--leaving us with something to cherish and consider in the process.

The only time the record comes across as flawed is the manner in which certain tracks happen to run into each other, however largely, this is easy to ignore when the rest of the record is so great. Local Business is certainly the business.

Overall, The Bears For Lunch is an great record, however those extra unnecessary tracks weigh it down at points and prevent it from being excellent.

Largely, (III) is an excellent album. Crystal Castles have not just recreated their first two records, they have developed as a band and their sound has morphed greatly.

At the end of the day, I don't know exactly where I'd rank Koi No Yokan--somewhere in the top three, but really it's not important. What's important is that this is a f***ing great album.

Overall, Tame Impala have created a steady sophomore album.

Isis' Temporal is an honest and respectable attempt to not only chronicle their career perhaps intrigue a few more people in the process.

Overall, About To Die isn't particularly great. The EP is quite unnecessary.

Hands Of Glory is yet another right step in a discography which is yet to falter or fail. This is as essential as a bits and bobs album comes.

Overall, Young Hunger is the sound of an artist spreading himself too thin.

Title Fight isn't trying to reshape the sound of punk--they just want you to listen to better music. Floral Green accomplishes that and more.

Lyrically and musically (guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling showcase impressive tapping and riffing throughout), this is Parkway Drive at its best--combining the best elements from its previous albums and expanding on them to create an album that encompasses all your senses.

The album never gets stagnant and avoids the pitfalls of sticking to the same sound or mellowing out with age and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have quite a few albums in them yet.

Blak and Blu is the very definition of a bellwether, and the resounding answer to all of the many who have predicted such greatness.

We Don't Even Live Here is the weirdest, angriest, and best P.O.S album to date.

Waking Season is the most dynamic and affecting record of this year and probably last year (too lazy to look).

It's sexy, daring, and complete.

One Wing is equal parts raw, deranged, beautiful, and immense--it's a very primal and exhausting release; something you can feel pouring out of your speakers.

Both daring and down right difficult to turn away, consider this among the band's finest work of their career thus far.

The album lives up to its title in every way and should prove essential for old and new fans alike.

Shields not only matches its predecessor in Grizzly Bear's back catalogue, but it exceeds it.