There are moments of despair, but on the whole, Lift a Sail rings as an uplifting testament to love and human resilience.

It’s the sound of a young band coming into their own unique musical niche and making the record they’ve been reaching for since they first hit the scene in 2009.

Of the 12 songs on the album proper, Sean is left to his own devices on less than half of them (two of which are the intro and outro), and the first signs of wear on the album come as soon as one of his solo joints succeeds another.

Like most of the record, it's slow to mid-tempo, but pushed forward by quick acoustic strums, and it builds up slowly to a huge rise with the type of sly hook that's all to rare on the set.

On the whole, American Beauty/American Psycho is Fall Out Boy's most consistent and bottom-line best album ever.

Oceania lacks the emotional force that it needed to transcend what it is: a former rock star trying to sound vital again.

The sincerity displayed by Green throughout just makes it very easy for any listener to be fully transfixed by Beautiful Things.

It is that constant desire to create new music that makes Heaven so deeply rewarding and so worth the time.

The different moods and soundscapes take awhile to digest and let sink in, but every trip back to the dim dance floor has your feet leaving the disco with fresh moves and new accolades.

This is one of the better electro-pop albums of 2011, one that will stimulate your senses and rope you in with its instantaneous catchiness.

Ostensibly an album about finding hope and navigating through the pathways of solace, Augustines is a shimmering, first-rate slice of pensive and passionate indie-rock.

As listeners, as fans of music, we've already hit the lottery here.

If the whole record were as explosive as these final two songs, it might have been Switchfoot’s best. As is, Fading West feels like a somewhat minor release from a band that has never lacked for dependability.

Happiness Is showcases how much each member of Taking Back Sunday has grown as an individual and a musician.

With The White Album, Weezer solidify their place as a more-than-capable modern pop-rock band.

Inheritance is as strong an opening statement as any released this year and with it The Last Bison firmly cement themselves as a band to watch in 2013 and beyond.

Aside from some quirky song titles, there's little about Land of Talk that's abnormal. In the end, they're just solid all the way around.

Aside from the overall atmosphere of the album, most of the time, Veronica Falls are spot on with their songwriting.

John is still going strong and better than ever. A few listens to The Diving Board proves exactly that.

Full of heart and soul, it's clear the band is putting in a daily grind and continue to impress in terms of ability & energy - it simply lacks the hooks, the feeling and everything we've previously seen in stellar fashion from a legendary band.

Though there is a good chunk of filler ("Wesley," "Target Heart," "Go On," "The Game,") the memorable songs mark this disc as something worth purchasing and something worth coming back to.

Myth seems like one of those albums that can really thrive in a post-critical world.

Malin has always been a talent, but here, he parlays everything he does well into a single 45-minute burst, and he reaches his pinnacle as a result.

As the record comes to a close, it's impossible not to note the true creativity exerted throughout the entirety of Codes and Keys.

The Valley is equally intimate and gorgeous as it is rough and realistic.

It's fairly apparent throughout the album that Anberlin was definitely in their element, as Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is exactly what mainstream music needed: a challenging and engaging rock and roll album anyone can relate to. Their songwriting and musicianship have never been better.

It doesn't take a biological science major to realize that this album is very well worth listening to regardless of whether you're a seasoned veteran of The Amory Wars storyline or you've never even heard of Coheed & Cambria.

It's a return trip to the well that provided Nothing is Wrong, but one made by a band that has gained significant perspective, clout, and chops in the four years that have now passed since that record.

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

[The songs] are nothing short of radiant, from the perfect vocals to the organic, full-bodied arrangements, from the heart-rending lyrics to the way that producer Charlie Peacock surrounds everything in a smoky ambiance.

Direct Hits is a solid, predictable, and wholly enjoyable look back at the Killers’ tumultuous first 10 years.

Angles is the best Strokes album since their 2001 debut, and they still sound just as fresh and youthful as they did when they released that record.

A genre-bending, head-turning collection that vaults ZBB to the top of the roots-rock pedestal.

Overall, Rudimental have shown themselves to be a talented band of men.

Champ as a whole isn't the most coherent album I've ever heard, and a maturing sound isn't the easiest thing to develop and capture on a record.

Gutter Rainbows may be the most accessible and varied album in his discography.

While Rented World may not offer the thematic comforts that fans of Impossible Past will be searching for, the album is stacked from top to bottom with can’t-miss tracks.

With Love is the most focused and refined release from Zomby yet, which is quite the feat considering it's a double album.

These songs aren’t just lovelorn poetry or odes of heartbreak; they’re full stories, five-minute films, expansive novels written in staves, rests, and music notes for the rest of us to bleed to.

These guys have created a pop-punk album that isn't timeless, but that's not the point. Wishful Thinking, by design, tells the story of a point in time, one that only has meaning because it won't last.

It was obvious the writing for this album was at its earlier stages when Camu passed away, but the production does a very good job of making up for the low quality of the vocals. Fortunately, Camu's fantastic voice still breaks through. I love distorted, uneven recordings, but fans of cleaner audio work may be put off by the album's overall quality.

The majority of the songs on Hyperview sound very, very similar. Those two songs are different enough to differentiate themselves from the rest of the album, but most of them aren’t.

What Saaab Stories lacks in quantity is easily made up for in quality.

The quintet has a real pulse on how to be memorable, melodic and magnificent without sacrificing their defined visions.

While some tracks may feel more like Bay and Ratner, Ross more often than not hits his mark.

Williams seems to have mostly left behind the beach motif and the surf vibes for straight 90s alt-rock, and more often than not it works for him, but a few songs here (“Dog,” “Everything Is My Fault,” “I Can’t Dream”) fall flat on their face.

Easily one of his strongest releases to date, if not his best, The Happiness Waltz is the very reason why musical history should have a small chapter for this criminally overlooked songwriter.

It's the sound of a veteran band coming back to the game without missing a beat, and churning out some of their best, liveliest, and catchiest material in the process.

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.

Like its predecessor, Pigeons is also delicate, but it does much more than shimmer and sound pretty. The rhythm section takes a huge step forward, the arrangements are more varied and robust, and there are countless actual hooks.

The Five Ghosts is the band's most consistent album yet, and their best since 2005's "Set Yourself On Fire."

As a complete work, Stone Temple Pilots is sturdy and probably more surprising for the fact that it was ever made than for its actual contents.

It's a decent addition to the artist's already impressive resume, but fails to arrest the same attention his earlier releases are famous for.

Because the band took the songs from Carlile's solo sessions and integrated them with the songs the band wrote during the front man's absence, The Flood's final product lacks some cohesiveness.

Getting Paid is nothing but a precise groove of excellence.

What A Time To Be Alive is ultimately the kind of release that will be relegated to curio status in the near future. It doesn’t hold a candle to the strength of either rappers best work, and for Future in particular its overall quality feels like a steep dip from the highs of his most recent run.

Temples are a promising band that definitely has a great record--or perhaps several--in them, but this one isn’t quite it. It certainly does make for a colorful and fun listen though, so just unplug and enjoy the ride.

Of course, it could have potentially been trimmed down and rearranged slightly more efficiently, but for an official debut full-length, it's a wonderful achievement and a more than worthy listen.

The Jayhawks are still crafting music that should be emulated. And that in and of itself is why Mockingbird Time is worth its 50 minutes.

As it stands, its hard to call anything on this album an evolution, since many of the tracks feel like they're just more beefed up but far less interesting versions of what they gave us on Shrines.

While the disc is certainly enjoyable in its own write, Terror doesn’t seem to be out to re-invent the wheel--but perhaps refine the vehicle they drive it on.

An understandable desire to have her traumas understood by everybody inevitably results in a bland mush of melodrama. Despite this, The Pinkprint is Nicki Minaj’s most successful album by a fairly wide margin, as she becomes more empathetic than at any point in the past while Pink Friday’s DMZ between pop and rap becomes little more than a historical footnote in her career.

Chances are, his best work is still ahead of him, but for now, Tomorrowland is another fascinating statement from one of music's most promising young players.

The unrelenting force of these songs almost becomes too much, but Waterfall is over before you know it and somehow leaves you begging for more.

While it may lack the immediate magnetism of Weathervanes, there's plenty of reasons to think when all is said and done, Diluvia will be the album that carries them forward and cements their status as one of New York City's most creative and rewarding indie bands.

Maintaining the melodramatic indie that Stars do so beautifully, The North manages to channel every aspect of the indie rock spectrum, whilst creating a body of art that is perfectly coherent.

So it is in just nine short songs, Kinsella has crafted something deeply resonant, deeply impacting and most importantly, timeless.

The resulting songs sway in and out pleasantly, but are too often as easy on the brain as they are the ears.

Comprised of many songs he has tucked away for years, the album is everything one might expect from a Gibbard solo album: daring, delicate, verbose and indelible.

Wolf is still packed with signs of potential, and at this point it would be just as foolish to write Tyler off as it would be to call him one of the best in the game.

The best songs from this album are all but unforgettable, and there are a handful of tracks that will certainly survive the test of time.

Slightly unfocused by design, Lantern broadens HudMo’s repertoire while also reaffirming his status as the premier producer of the sound that brought him to fame.

There's no real logical conclusion as to what it all means, and The Roots understand that. That's part of why they made the album so short; so that you can put the time in and come to a conclusion yourself.

This Addiction promises exactly what the title describes, as most older fans will eat this up.

What we end up with on Cope is not only an album that’s worth the wait, but one that seems to be pretty distinctly illuminating a path: soft-to-loud, simplicity over complexity and emotional release through power chords.

A hard-hitting, purely enjoyable album from South Florida's proudest sons.

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

It's good to listen to a record like The People's Key, if for no other reason, just to appreciate a songwriter who knew exactly what he wanted to do and executed it perfectly.

Mechanical Bull is the sound of real life. It’s the sound of Kings of Leon realizing that sometimes where you were is better than where you ended up.

If I had to describe Scurrilous in one word, it would be indulgent, and that's not a bad thing. When you have this much talent, I want to hear it.

Whether it was "the right way" or not, all of the days that we have waited for Neighborhoods have been well worth it.

Combining the huge sound of Of Men & Angels with the youthful honesty of Hello, Good Friend and Do You Feel, Avary has created his best record yet with Life Will Write These Words.

Sympathy isn't all cartwheels and picnics. But even in the face of death, there is optimism in Eiseland's songwriting that makes you want to listen regardless of mood.

If you want to relax and mindlessly sing along with some super fun pop-punk tunes, Safeways Here We Come has got you covered. Just don't expect anything more.

All told, Positive Songs for Negative People is Frank Turner's most complete album since Love, Ire & Song, and perhaps his best as well.

In comparison with the current post-rock landscape, it's largely uninteresting, but in creating a palatable easy-listening experience, it's a definite success. Like its predecessors, though, this is one story that's probably best told at bedtime.

Basically, Fortress will surprise some and maybe even anger others. But with the right Feel Good mindset, it can be a wonderful journey through the mind of some a.) interesting people or b.) interestingly intoxicated people. Plus, there are boobs on the cover.

It'll be difficult to find many albums (regardless of genre) that stimulates as many emotions as Camp. Years of hard work and perseverance from Glover has finally paid off and Camp is the culmination of all that, making this one of the best albums of 2011.

Issues' debut album is not only a more cohesive effort, but it's the immediate answer to naysayers who say claim the band will immediately fade away into irrelevancy.

While Sea Lions blow through fifteen songs in less than a half-hour, it's startling how nice they all sound as they fly by, and even more so how little remains in memory even a few seconds after the last sweetly chiming note fades into silence.

The results are loud, punishing, totally lacking in subtlety, and at this juncture, almost completely predictable.

Wherever you place Adult Film in the Kasher canon, it’s hard to deny that it’s one of the best albums of the year, and arguably his most versatile yet.

You Will Eventually Be Forgotten is easily one of the best albums of the year.

Taylor's original 1989 is made even more interesting and worthy of discussion by Ryan's overtly classic rock-ified version, while Ryan's version is intriguing as both a personal expression and a reaction to one of the biggest albums we're likely to see come along in our lifetimes.

Seeker Lover Keeper is a beautiful, harmonious and captivating listen from start to finish.

Aside from that rather flat conclusion, Nightlife is a solid offering from a unique act who possess a sound all their own, who seem unafraid of exploring all aspects of that sound.

Right from the start with opener "Lion Face Boy", Seabear bring you in and captivate you for the entirety of We Built A Fire.

With Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, it seems he's on the road to finding what works, with varying degrees of success.