Transcending genre, Interiors is Quicksand in 2017, a time where no one is quite sure if we’ve moved backward.

The band still maintain their status as leaders. Frontman Jacob Bannon is physically incapable of phoning in his performances, and always ready to bring the fear. Kurt Ballou’s guitar work is a joy to experience, whether he's carpal tunneling through downstrokes, picking out lyrical phrases to frame Bannon's ominous moments (“Thousands Of Miles Between Us”) or bringing the straight-up noise like a hateful glass-bomb explosion ("Under Duress").

Beyond the necessity, Birdie is a record that teeters an indie/emo line with ease and a sense of hybridity. Press “play” for a sense of melancholic calm.

The 79-minute runtime will undoubtedly turn some casual listeners off, but those patient enough to stick it out until the end are in for the Used’s most soul-wrenching, creatively daring effort to date.

There’s an elegance to her music that wasn’t there before--a sudden bright piano riff over deep guitar; a harrowing, shouted acapella--that feels like a coming of age.

As a collective work, Pacific Daydream is ultimately a step below the resurgent greatness of the White Album, but it still soundly ranks in the upper tier of Weezer’s new-millennium output. It’s peppered with some of the band’s best songs in recent memory.

The Blood Of Gods strips away unnecessary studio wizardry and presents GWAR in its rawest sonic state, opting for a rough-and-tumble attitude. Nearly every beat and riff on the record screams for listeners to pay attention.

An impressive and diverse follow-up to an already-impressive debut.

It would have been incredibly easy for them to rest on their laurels and placate the faithful. Instead, they took a huge creative risk, pushing the idea of what--and who--they are as a band while still retaining their identity. And damn, does it sound good.

If you fancy darkness, BDM have upgraded their harrowing sound to embody the concept completely. Tracks like “Matriarch” will remind you what got you into melodic death metal in the first place, while “Jars” and “As Good As Dead” put the band’s diverse influences on display.

Sonically, there’s something incredibly otherworldy and fantastical rooted in Phantom Anthem, making the album translate like an epic poem rather than a collection of songs, both enticing for its cohesion and at times tedious in its redundancy.

There are minor lulls here, but enough highs to majorly please.

Manson is keeping things exciting and crucial the only way rock’s long-running antihero can. Pro Tip: Listen on headphones, where his unadorned, chilling stalker-esque asides will make your bladder flex.

Gossip succeeds in delivering an inspirational array of tracks that, as a whole, are a natural progression (and successful foray) into the mainstream.

This Detroit outfit have restrained their post-punk intentions somewhat, playing with more textured compositions rather than blunt assault of their earlier material. This proves to be the perfect swirling yet steady backdrop for frontman Joe Casey to spin his cheap beer-fueled freeform yarns of lost souls and tortured romantics. [Oct 2017, p.83]

Circa just sound oddly restrained, in a way, and the most enthralling moments don’t feel quite as emotionally resonant or grabbing as the band’s been so capable of in the past, especially with a slower pace down the stretch. That said, an average Circa Survive album is still a cut above most anything out there, and their subtle yet ever-continuing evolution remains a compelling thing. [Oct 2017, p.81]

As expected, frontman/programmer Rou Reynolds remains urgent and vulnerable. [Oct 2017, p.81]

On their fierce third album, METZ have ratcheted their cacophony up high enough and still have it be considered rock music. [Oct 2017, p.81]

Bigger production values and more group playing than her previous piano/vocal introspection. Haines delivers urgency and depth without having to shear off her throat lining, and can convey vulnerability and uncertainty with a brave face. [Oct 2017, p.81]

Their music is tighter, sharper and aiming for the jugular in its first shot. In the simplest terms, the band crafted a record that fills the bigger venues they are sure to be playing now and in the future.

The quartet have delivered some of the most raw and willfully demented rock music to be vomited up in 2017, and Patton's inimitable contributions ensure that the crazy meter remains permanently in the red. [Aug 2017, p.82]

Manchester Orchestra are no strangers to reinvention, but this is a bold step. It’s a grower of a sound: folky yet enormous, like Fleet Foxes at their most widescreen, and with no immediate hooks (“The Gold” is close, though). When they do emerge, they’re not easy.

Ultimately, The Knife is proof he [John Feldmann] still has plenty left in his own songwriting tank. [Aug 2017, p.82]

It's proof that there's plenty of life left in its creators. [Aug 2017, p.83]

Here, retaking the signature spell that Hellion and crew first conjured in the ’90s Cleveland scene, the band’s haunted hardcore gets a fresh coat of paint for the next stage of darkness. If you’re ready to enter the nightmare, this will get you howling.

Bloom feels less like the work of a persona than an authentic attempt at sorting out a sometimes messy life--far from perfect, yet perfectly compelling.

In spite of the somewhat dour tone of this album, there’s plenty of musical depth and light to be found throughout.

Mostly, Hug Of Thunder feels like a sign of maturity to complement a more weathered and warm approach to songwriting that includes a lot of electronic pulses and skybound singalongs.