Even though it's downright schmaltzy at times, Sun, Sun, Sun is such a warm, inviting record that I've found myself going back to it time after time.

While it's sometimes a rambling mess, The Story Is In The Soil... sounds like one of those releases that was both cathartic and damn fun to put together.

While it may turn off some people who were fans of his earlier, acoustic work, it also shows that he has the chops to do a full-fledged rock album.

In the end, Parc Avenue finds a band creating some amazing music, but still putting out some feelers along the way.

There are plenty of polyrhythms, but not much to hum along with. A big step up from their debut, this one will be much loved by riddim heads.

In the end, it's not as excellent as their early work, but still pretty entertaining.

Having heard their first EP, it's not quite as much of revelation as it would have been, but it's still pretty darn good.

It's a kick in the pants debut, and here's hoping they carve their own unique sound out even more in the future.

While these experiments don't always quite work, at the very least the group isn't falling into a rut.

Something like the Polyphonic Spree might sound if they decided to freak out a bit more, Danielson is a whole load of friends getting together under the banner of having a good time and creating some enjoyable music.

It's perfect for backing music, but has enough going on that you might find yourself seeing mirages as well.

While it indeed works wonders in most places, it stumbles in a few, crossing over into an almost sickenly sweet radio-friendly territory that make me doubly wish for new Portishead material.

Inconsistent, but charming in places and insanely catchy in others, Everything/Everything presents Simon Bookish as someone to keep an ear out for.

Yes, the almost nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness lyrics are still there, but the sense of songwriting, melody, and even depth of instrumentation has been expanded upon.

Because this is a more personal affair, your tolerance for this release will largely depend on your acceptance of Martsch's voice.

If you're a fan, there's certainly stuff you'll enjoy here, but if you're looking for them to take another step forward, this might not suffice.

It's a much breezier affair, as if Air and Daft Punk have been cross-bred with The Notwist and Mouse On Mars.

It's not their best work to date, but it definitely taps into a deep well of both anger and despair.

It's pleasing, and sometimes outstanding, but it ultimately feels a bit too safe and soft.

Mostly a blast of fun.

It's not the sort of release that's going to really knock you out, but it's spry and sharp and arrives as just the perfect time in early summer.

Even the tracks that don't quite work don't miss the mark by much, and while there's nothing too flashy going on within, the solid overall quality of the 12 tracks and 50 minutes of music is somewhat of a rarity.

Floating somewhere in between his previous release under the Dntel name and The Postal Service, Dumb Luck will likely slightly frustrate fans of each a little bit, but in other places provide some nice payoff.

[The] longer track... just completely derails what would otherwise be a fairly solid and concise album.

While the group has done a great job of incorporating even more digital tricks and unique sounds into the mix, they've somehow managed to create a slightly more sterile environment.

Good, but not outstanding.

The biggest problem with the release is that it's simply a little too programmed for it's own good.

The disc as a whole has sort of an austere quality that lets some of the fun out of the sails.

It's not that The Slow Wonder is a bummer by any means, because it's not. It's simply not riding quite the same giddy highs as work by his previous groups.

Not as good as the best work from Kozelek, and a long shot from the worst, April is a solid, if not surprising album that should be just enough for fans.

While not every single thing they try works, it's still a very enjoyable listen.

It's still another unique and often-beautiful release from this young artist, but it doesn't feel quite as invigorating as his debut.

As with most other first releases, though, it's a a bit inconsistent in places, but all in all, Smoke is a fun and sometimes great debut from a young artist.

Point is playful and fun, and although it sometimes sounds like different tracks are constructed exactly the same as others, just with different instruments, it also makes for a much more cohesive release than his debut.

If there's one question to be raised with the album, it's that it's all simply so lush and nice that on some levels it fails to excite.

Over quiet, shuffling drum machine beats, the two spill out woozy guitars, vocals, and organs into slightly off-kilter pop nuggets that sound like they could have been made at any point in the past thirty (or more) years.

Fans of My Morning Jacket will most likely love this release, and I'm sure those who followed Carissa's Wierd will want to hear what half of that band has been up to since calling it quits.

There are some amazing songs on Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, but overall it still feels like a transition[al] release of a group really trying to nail things.

The jumps aren't so dramatic that it feels completely disjointed, as the whole release (as with releases in the past by the group) has an overall introspective and rather dark and moody feel.

I wasn't expecting the group to completely break from their ways on this follow-up, but melodically and musically it's a little too close to the debut to really feel like it breaks any new ground.

If you haven't discovered the group yet, by all means snap up this lush slab of synth pop.

With the new directions in sound, there are a couple places where the group stumbles just a bit.

A technicolor blast that pairs hooky guitar and keyboard riffs with plenty of four on the floor beats and sing-along vocals.

The Humbucking Coil doesn't really tread any new ground for Fleischmann, but it's another enjoyable and solid little release in his discography.

Definitely a bit more hit-or-miss than some of his past work.

While all the songs are nicely performed and recorded, they simply don't capture the amazing qualities of Case and her band.

As always, Can Cladders is immaculately-produced, with an airy feel that emphasizes the breezy songs.

Let Us Never Speak Of It Again is at the same time better than Street Dad in several ways, but also much more indulgent (sometimes in bad ways) than its concise predecessor.

WIncing The Night Away as a whole is both inconsistent and even odd in sequencing.

Fans of each respective artist may scratch their head a bit when first hearing 13 & God, but it will mostly make sense after awhile. If it doesn't, it's probably not supposed to.

As a whole, the release is a bit stronger on the front end, but it's charming enough for the duration that a couple weaker (and somewhat repetitive, given the bands thus-limited oeuvre) tracks don't hold it back too much.

Although In Ghost Colours is certainly a step up in terms of how cohesive it sounds, it loses some of the spontaneity in the process.

It's fun stuff, and I imagine their live show would be even better.

It still doesn't quite have the emotional grab of some of their older work despite the addition of more vocals and a slightly more glossy sound.

While there are a couple of tracks that are completely amazing, the album as a whole could have used a little better sequencing to make it more tight.

Musically and lyrically, it continues right along in the same footsteps of their last album, and in the case of some tracks is even much better.

In the end, The Reminder is by no means a bad album, but it certainly could have used a bit more trimming and a little less of a focus on the soft pop side of things.

Less visceral than "Cryptograms," this follow-up shows two sides of a group that still hasn't quite figured out exactly what they want to be.

There are several songs on the release that are easily among the best that the group has ever done, but by the time the 15 tracks and well over an hour run length are over, the release feels a bit on the long side and many of the shorter tracks simply feel like sketches that weren't fully fleshed-out.

If you were a bit let down by the last Bright Eyes album (as I was), this is a release that should get you excited again.

Fans of the group's early work might find the album a bit trying at first, but it's still the same old group for the most part.

It's nice to hear him breaking free of the contraints that he's laid out for himself thus far.

For most other groups, it would be a winner, but for Built To Spill it's a slight comedown from their stellar streak.

Whether they're toying with different sounds that have been explored by other groups or pulling out the stops on tracks like "Air Methods," they've still managed to create an interesting batch of tracks.

It's a diverse album in terms of textures, and those extra layers help give the band a developed sound beyond most debut releases.

Wind In The Wires just feels a bit more hesitant than Lycanthropy, and while there are some great tracks, it doesn't quite have the same energy that his debut did.

The album is a bit hit-or-miss, fortunately more of the former than the latter.

If you like well-constructed pop/rock music with female vocals, it's definitely worth a look.

It's a psychadelic haze of an album with layers upon layers of sound, many tracks so dense that lead singer Isobel Sollenberger just becomes another element.

Like his debut, it could use a bit more focus and some editing, but the basement hits feel is part of the charm with VanGaalen.

There are several places where the disc seems to lapse into very familiar territory, and at other times it definitely feels like it's coasting a bit.

Everything feels a slight bit too polished, but that's not a huge fault.

On first listen, it's not as immediately accessible as Up In Flames... [but it] reveals itself in several listens and contains yet another batch of fearless tracks from an artist who simply refuses to sit still.

All the tracks are spotlessly performed by the group, but don't differ from the recorded tracks all that much except in a few cases.

An ambitious, sometimes awkward mish-mash of soul-baring, ego-blaring, and everything in-between.

It's kind of a mess in places.

Fans of Macha might find the release lacking a bit in the percussion area, but The Ride makes up for it some with atmosphere.

Quite possibly their best album.

Although it's a huge departure for those expecting more of the same from Holmes, it's easily the most sonically interesting release by him thus far.

While the results may not break down conventions, it does provide a heaping helping of interesting music.

The back two-thirds of the disc simply wanders around a bit too much, but there are still some real gems.

At times touching and at others completely silly.

It's the sort of album that at times sounds like the group simply threw everything against the wall and hoped that something would stick. In many cases, it did, but in others it sounds like a raucous mess.

Many of the tracks on the latter half of the release simply don't change that much, and for that reason it's a little hard to just pop in the player and sit down to listen to unless you're into repetitive, harsh electronic dance music.

It's a solid return to form.

The Contino Sessions is definitely a step in the right direction for the group in terms of continuity and development of their sound, but their are still a few hiccups that they need to work out.

If you're a fan of their more experimental instrumental work, you'll find plenty to be interested in here, as the album as a whole feels a bit scattered.

It's at its best when it puts Albarn in situations that you wouldn't normally hear him in, but also stumbles occassionally with a couple tracks that feel rather tossed-off and others that feel like they could have come off a Blur b-side.

Take some metal and stir in some prog, sludge, and psych rock and basically you've got yerself Comets On Fire.

At times outstanding and at others a bit frustrating, Slappers is a bit too uneven to be essential.

Radiohead fans will obviously want to snag it up, but if you’re looking for melancholic electronic pop, there’s much better to be found.

If you go back to the touchpoints of the era in terms of music, there's certainly plenty of awful lyrics, and while I can often overlook lyrics if the music itself is strong, Saturdays = Youth sometimes lapses into a sort of emo shoegazer feel that's simply a bit too sickly-sweet for me.

At the end of it all, Guns And Drums feels more like an inconsistent experiment than a full fledged step forward.

Another semi-spotty release.

There's no doubt that Betke hasn't lost his finesse in creating tracks, but after such a long hiatus, this EP is a little lacking in the excitement department.

While it might not be a full exclamation point ending to their career, it's far better than a fall on the face.

Somewhat hit or miss pastiche pop, Parallax Error Beheads You is harder to like that it should be.

At times enjoyable, at other times somewhat bland, And The Opera Circuit is a somewhat inconsistent follow-up release from the young artist.