Even though I'm sad this record has left no lasting effect, I'm also happy that it might mean my life is heading somewhere positive.

Anarchy, My Dear is a record that promises that anything could happen at anytime, and Bemis and company do their very best to shake up what has been expected from them as a band.

Folds just doesn’t seem to have the same grip on likable, semi-charming songwriting he once did.

while the 7 or so songs on What A Pleasure have different names, it never really feels like anything ends or begins. It just kind of is, much in the same way that after listening to Beach Fossils, you know something happened but you can't remember why it did so or what it meant.

What this EP shows most effectively is the band’s seemingly innate ability to restrain themselves into a frenzy.

It does have sort of a Swiss Army Knife Effect: Use what you want only when you need it.

Wreckorder is the sound of a songwriter firmly embodying the spirit of Britpop and testing himself. "Sing Me To Sleep," and "As It Comes," also point towards signs of maturation that were never seen in the Travis back catalog.

We Do What We Want is far from perfect – the track sequencing is awkward and doesn't feature the technicality of previous albums (this is where they really miss Shelton) – it is still unlike any other Emery release.

By teaming up with some of the best producers in the r&b/hip-hop genre right now, including frequent Drake collaborators T-Minus and Boi-1da, Kelly Rowland has managed to make one of the best sounding r&b albums of the year.

The Gifted is a horribly disjointed album. If Wale would have gone one way or the other (soulful nostalgic beats or straight up pop-rap), the album would probably be at least a little bit better.

While Story of the Year won't win any originality awards any time soon, they definitely still know how to bring a party to your speakers.

Once the initial shock of hearing this Mazes' brand of distorted but highly melodic rock wore off, it gave way to pure delight.

Every song on Soul Punk bleeds confidence and assurance--that these songs are what Patrick Stump is happy creating--music that he's proud of.

Though it is probably not Coldplay's best, it is indeed a memorable listen and another chapter for a band whose place in rock music is firmly cemented.

At the very least, Better Nature represents 10 more (well, 9 if you don’t count “Ragamuffin”) well-crafted and heartfelt songs to listen to for the next 2-3 years before they put out another unbelievably consistent record.

All of this makes for an interesting listen, even if the record can tend to drag on a little bit toward the end.

It's nice to have a few good new tracks to add to the collection from one of the scene's finest.

So while the disc may not his best album, it is still one that makes you think and challenges you.

When combined with crisp guitar work, meaty bass lines, and thunderous drumming, the screams fire bullets against the enemy track after track, and unlike with Attack Attack's This Means War, Memphis May Fire are winning the battle with Challenger.

Despite being fifteen years in the punk rock scene, My Shame Is True is a showcase of a band continuing to be vibrant and vital, when lesser bands have become stale and irrelevant.

Omni is accessible yet not watered down; complex and engaging all at once. Its catchy and progressive elements will surely dig its way into your cerebellum.

The flow of Strange Clouds tends to vary between songs that are helping make the album great ("So Good," "Arena," "So Hard to Breathe"), and then the ones that keep pushing it down the route of a sophomore slump ("Ray Bands," "Just a Sign," "Play for Keeps"). Right when there's about to be a trend of some consistency, it ends up falling short.

Candela makes for an, at times unpleasant, but ultimately forgettable listen.

He still has an ear for production and his voice remains a pliable tool, but to keep himself tethered to an aesthetic he defined and completed within a year is to do himself and the listener a disservice.

It’s not going to be a new favorite album for anyone other than Avril Lavigne’s most ardent admirers, but a handful of great summer mixtape songs and a few other exercises in mindless pop fun are still enough to make Avril Lavigne the eponymous singer’s best record in nine years. That might not be saying much, but it's a step in the right direction.

Spills Out is a satisfying album that puts a unique spin on otherwise trite indie-pop touchstones and a marriage of dissonance and charm seamless enough that, at times, it's almost difficult to tell one from the other.

Songs of Innocence is a great record. Not a perfect one, mind you: for one thing, Danger Mouse, the record’s primary producer, uses a few too many of his tired stock tricks along the way, making the record sound more generic than it would with Brian Eno behind the boards.

Battle Born is the kind of rock 'n' roll record that almost nobody makes anymore: it's bombastic and excessive and oversized, but it's also a grand and universal statement, a master class of album structure and sequencing, and a culmination of everything Brandon Flowers and The Killers have done up to this point.