They’ve amassed a collection of songs that stand together, proudly. It’s not a life-changing moment, nor is it even something that will win tons of new fans but it is a solid album, from front to back.

Roots & Crowns encircles the listener and flows effortlessly as each song melts into the next in bewitching bliss.

These two guys are good on the turntables and production, and they've got some stellar hip hop and rock guests. Check out this collaboration, one of the few hip-hop albums that I truly think is a must-have.

There’s so much going on here that you have to listen close. And still, it’s a fun album, catchy and wild and full of exuberance.

The Bird and the Bee is as light as a feather, for sure. It’s not throwaway, though; the darting melodies and twinkling keyboards are like some divine ringtone and the pair’s love of jazz standards is apparent in the harmonic reach and twists of their songs.

This short EP clearly isn't up to the muster of classic 70s Wire.

Red Devil Dawn is by far the most consistent Crooked Fingers album, and in many respects, probably the best in general.

This album is a lot more than just a singer/songwriter's romantic confessions but not quite the grandiose rock of The Flaming Lips and Beck, but The Russian Futurists have carved a nice little niche somewhere in between.

Ultimately, it ends up being a fine album. Nothing too spectacular or breakthrough but filled with enough great tunes to keep you coming back.

So, reliable business as usual then for The Sea And Cake but with enough under-familiarity to neuter any contempt. Long-time loyalists will have few complaints.

The Magician’s Private Library is Miranda’s personal baby but Sitek is the godfather, scavenging through all of the reading material. It’s a sincerely open recording and a true testament to what the human spirit is capable of--even when the odds are against it.

The depth of Sioux's technical skill is palpable and worth the listen.

Neither too mature (i.e. boring), nor too desperately age-defying (i.e. embarrassing), Three Easy Pieces potently reenergizes older Tom trademarks as well as imprinting a few new ones.

With only a couple of real missteps--that could have been eliminated by a less democratic division of songwriting labour to cut the tracklisting to a tighter 12 or 13 cuts--this first (and hopefully not last) Monsters Of Folk release happily proves that super-groups can be greater than the sum of individual parts, when kinship overrules narcissism.

The brightest spot of this release comes in the form of the upbeat “Jinx,” where the band almost cracks a smile despite the subject matter. Even though the band comes from Brooklyn, the Sleater-Kinney vocalisms on “Jinx” only further Golden Triangle’s Seattle leanings.

Thankfully, Danielson's music is interesting enough to look past some of these lyrical drawbacks.

All we really want right now are some jams to soundtrack these days of eternal sunshine and oceanfront revelries. On these demands, Washed Out delivers in spades.

Whilst overall Chatma may lack some of the rousing freshness that made its two predecessors such heartfelt pleasures, it still respectably sustains the Tamikrest soul in all its nomadic questing.

It'd be too easy to dismiss Blitzen Trapper for choosing to release an album that more or less stays inside the lines, opting for convention over innovation. Yet, with American life in the 21st century being so frenzied, it's oddly comforting to listen to a record that doesn't challenge you to keep up with it.

My major complaint with the album is that the songs are far too short to provide an optimal listening experience.

At least two or three songs on the record are worthy of the New Pornographers for crunchy catchiness and the entire set is packaged with energy and hooks.

Stylistically, while it can all fit in to the category of Indie/Alt. Rock if it had to, every song brings something different to the table.

Mondanile isn't rewriting any of the rules here, but he does show that he can stand on his own as a pop songwriter perfectly well, and frequently does so in an addictive fashion.

If you're a hardcore Interpol fan, already accustomed to the gloomy, brooding aspects of the band's full-releases, I would strongly recommend Our Love to Admire as a solid release which easily competes with Antics. However, if you've only dabbled, this album isn't explosive enough to edge out many of the other recent releases in this genre.

There is a noticeable but not calamitous chunk of Siesta that doesn’t go enough distance to really justify the extended running time of its fourteen tracks, with ponderous cuts such as “Your Head Your Mind”, “Why It Works Out Fine” and “Closer” being too reliant on meandering jangling. Consequently, this is a clear case where a little less could arguably have meant something more. That said, fans of amorphous Scandi art-pop will still find much to enjoy here.

As reunion records go this is certainly no lazy phoned-in companion to more lucrative live shows, as it captures promising movements forward as opposed to just fumbled nostalgic flashbacks.

The opening and closing tracks prove that Conor Oberst is a more reflective and personal venture as both are stripped down affairs, one summoning childhood memories while the other seems to contemplate suicide.

With those sharp synth lines, and an interesting sense of melody, the Killers have made a good album.