Check this out if you are a devoted member of the Pentagram coven, but otherwise, stick to the classics.

Her drive and influences are there, but, moving forward, the search for hooks may remain her greatest challenge.

Take It Like A Man is a disjointed affair with a slippery identity.

Much of Principe's second half finds him repackaging the first half with plodding disco beats that make the initially exciting melodies seem boring the second (and third, and fourth) time around.

With the majority of the tracks being in-and-around the two minute mark, Sage The Gemini presses the gas pedal too quickly before capturing your attention lyrically or sonically.

Bleachers is agreeable and safe, but there's a fumbling listlessness to the whole thing, a lack of dynamism that makes it fade into white noise. Antonoff’s latest is not the grand, drive-off-into-the-sun record that Strange Desire or even Gone Now strove to be and sometimes became — Bleachers is a commuter’s record through and through.

K.T.S.E. is a strong start with an anticlimactic finish. With a bit of additional time and effort, it could have been so much more.

In large part, this compilation is underwhelming--there are exceptions, but the creativity is lacking and, to some degree, that's surprising, considering some of the talent on the roster.

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 includes a few pop gems, but as an album, it pales in comparison to its older sibling.

Black Rock is still filled with McCombs' spacious, isolating tracks ("Tonight at Ten," "Gold!"), which are best for lonely winter evenings.

Ultimately, Daniel is perfectly pleasant.

Hidden Orchestra occasionally skirt the borderline of cheese, but thankfully manage to stay on the right side of it, for the most part.

Need Your Light is certainly a step up from Beta Love, but Ra Ra Riot are missing the orchestral edge that originally set them apart from other groups in their genre, making it feel inessential despite being quite likeable.

Goodman remains a sharp and confident songwriter, and buried underneath the noise there's still plenty of charm here, but dialing back all the bluster would have gone a long way.

Longtime fans of Gwar will surely find a track here and there that's worthwhile, but in general, they would be better off returning to their back catalogue.

The relentless gothic signifiers too often leave you in the cold, wondering why you didn't spend the last 45 minutes enhancing or deepening your more sinister feelings, rather than drowning beneath them.

You can't help but wish he'd leaned into the dive bar clatter and freewheeling wildness that always feels just at the periphery of his music. As it is, And the Wind acts as a solid addition to your deep-summer-backyard-beer-drinking soundtrack — sometimes that's all you need.

Every step is like the last, every dune made up of the same inconspicuous pebbles. Species can make for an exceptionally trance-inducing listen if you have it in you to push past the monotony.

One gets the sense that as an artist, PND has yet to even scratch the surface of his potential. Two serves as evidence of such; perhaps the third and successive instalments will see continued artistic progression. Or not.

The genre is wide, but Stapleton's Room is so narrow and old-fashioned that, despite its quality songwriting, it feels stifling at times.

Heaven Is for Quitters follows no pattern except that of disconnect, so while many of the tracks work as they are, it's far from a cohesive album.

While this release really doesn't break any boundaries, it's beautiful and doesn't demand much more than good feelings. In these times, that's no small thing.

Visuals is drenched in grandiosity, but many of its songs are devoid of proper exploration; instead of pushing the limits, they often feel idle.

With Radiance and Submission, the Montreal musician attempts a serene matrimony of the two musical sides that struggles to strike a balance between stimulating and stale when it comes to the record's overarching sound.

The fact that it's essentially more of the same might make it uninteresting to some, but to fans of the band or any of its widely known predecessors like Jimmy Eat World or Taking Back Sunday, that sameness will bring a welcome sense of comfort.

A decent addition to his discography, More Is Than Isn't could use more dance beats and much more P. Blackk.

Kadavar attempt to create something that is both memorable and cool here, but despite all its hooks and melodies, Berlin ultimately falls short.

These 10 dark soundtracks fail to chart new territory. They're not bad; they're just not challenging or frankly all that interesting.

While highlight "The Glass" is an undisputedly heartbreaking acoustic-tinged ditty about living the rest of your life in someone's absence, the mid-LP tracks unfortunately do little more than fill obligatory spots on the Foo Fighters spectrum.

Even if you appreciate Havoc's reliability, you'll miss Prodigy's unpredictable diction.

While Funeral isn't necessarily a flop, the album would have ranked higher in Lil Wayne's discography had he cut the tracklist in half and opted for quality over quantity. Overall, Funeral lacks replay value compared to the multiple "best of the year" albums that Wayne has proven capable of creating.

This is an album that's holiday-ready: safe, inoffensive, pretty grandma music.

With the exception of Lil Durk's two verses, Thugga's extensive assortment of guests here falls flat, causing the second half of the tape to drag.

There's a comfortable vibe that the project ease into, content to deliver serviceable lyrics over straightforward beats and nothing more.

Stetson does an admirable job finding ways to maintain a tone of persistent unease, but his compositional skills are tested by the film's reliance on abstract horror with occasional visceral shocks over any kind of concrete story or consistent character beats. Detached from the visuals it makes for a pretty bumpy ride.

Guv I [was] an all-around more solid record, making Guv II feel a bit more like leftover parts than an essential second act — but Cook's knack for songwriting is nonetheless clear. At the very least, this sequel is an extra show of musical prolificacy and a good portfolio-stuffer with which to chase more work as a hired gun.

While the album is far from his best work (the disjointed opening track is a strong first clue), it still merits a listen.

There's an overemphasis on influences here that makes Stranger Things more recognizably likeable than imaginative.

While his intentions may have been pure, Snoop's attention to the assembling of this album needed a little more love.

Serenity is certain to scratch an itch. Still, there's a sense of "good enough" with all of their recent releases, and it's a problem this record just can't shake.

Wiesenfeld's hazy side project is nice, but it would fare better if he punched it up slightly-- for active listening

While Swirlings creates an easy listening ambience with textures that assist in ethereal out-of-body mediations, there is little in the way of innovation, though the final track provides a contrasting tone from the relaxation pieces.

It's hard to shake off singer Davey Havok's sterile lyrics, especially when many of the choruses lean heavily on his bold, operatic delivery yet are somewhat squandered on half-cocked one-liners.

The Pale Emperor is downright ambitious when it wants to be and lazy when it can get away with it.

Lacking the depth of his more memorable efforts, Digital Roses Don't Die sounds more like an album Big K.R.I.T. made for himself rather than something he expected his fans to collectively laud.

Lost In The Trees might not be as distinctive as they once were, but they still make highly emotional music; it's just better disguised than it was in the past.

Spooky Action is an incredibly simple record that's rescued by a primal energy and emotional output that artists half Loewenstein's age wished they possessed.

If you're a diehard fan, you could give Surviving a chance, but if you're only a fan of their pop punk and emo efforts, it's best to skip this one.

99¢ is an album buoyed by its sonic playfulness, but which fails to shake its playlist sensibility--entertaining, engaging but only occasionally leaving a lasting impression.

For each song where the more minimal sonic approach comes up short, there are places on Temple where it succeeds.

Satellite Flight: The Journey to the Mother Moon occupies a space between what is and what's coming, but Kid Cudi's admired originality falls short and is almost lackluster here in comparison to his previous works.

For fans of Animal Collective's trippier inclinations, Tangerine Reef is a pleasant bit of oceanic escapism. For new listeners or anyone looking for the next "My Girls," this is decidedly inessential.

On Impressions, Music Go Music have created a recreation of a bygone era with none of its character.

On her fourth album, inventive and demented singer/songwriter/guitar hero Marnie Stern whips up a potent batch of quirky, invigorating and, at times, beautiful new material.

The handful of breaks from his patented gutter raps aren't enough to compensate for the monotony in his dozen interchangeable guns-and-butter records.

Setting a heavy mood with opening track "My Life's Been Taken," Morlix sticks with it through the majority of the ensuing nine songs, painting bleak portraits of desperate men chasing love and money while on the run from past mistakes.

Pre-interlude, Bankrupt! is trekking along the right path; it's a futuristic journey into a foreign place for Phoenix, akin to a soundtrack for an updated Lost in Translation. But things quickly go off the rails once it spirals out of the dizzying interlude of flashing synths, losing its sense of melody and purpose.

Raspberry Bulbs paint a seductively dystopian image through Before the Age of Mirrors, but its aesthetic cannot fully carry the weight of its musical shortcomings. There is both too much runtime and too little substance here.

Green is too talented to not make a decent-sounding album, but Heart Blanche, while delivering Green's usually masterful take on gospel-influenced and pop-minded R&B, feels listless and lacks passion.

Beyond a few flaws, Matt & Kim have put together a fun record, and in the pop game, that comes first.

Things Take Time, Take Time is an exceedingly nice-sounding record — but with almost no quotable zingers, it's hard not to shake the sense that something is missing, is missing.

For what it's worth, we know Eminem is an incredible lyricist. We know he has punch lines that can pierce your mind and make you laugh. But what we don't know is whether or not he has anything real to say, and to his detriment, Music to Be Murdered By puts that in the spotlight.

It was always going to be tough for Dashboard Confessional to repeat what they were, but while maybe Crooked Shadows doesn't hit the heights that A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar did in 2003, it's still a welcome return.

Beaus$Eros yields some positive results while laying the foundation for some interesting future projects.

While McVie's voice seems to have held up quite well, it's all but lost behind multiple layers of effects, combined with gratuitous use of shakers and other percussion. As for the songs themselves, most are simply fair-to-middling pop songs.

The result is an adventurous but inconsistent affair that suggests Clams Casino has plenty of ideas — and perhaps his masterpiece--still in him.

Ducktails have an expert ability to create a dreamlike sound; hopefully, the next record will be bolstered by a few more memorable songs to make it a dream worth remembering.

Doris isn't the classic many anticipated, but it is a strong, uncompromised debut from a very talented young rapper. For now, that's enough.

There are moments here where he manages both [his popstar ambitions and his affinity for paving his own sonic path] in one fell swoop, but on his third time out, he can't sustain the momentum for an entire album.

Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, Antonoff's third album as Bleachers, is at best a heartfelt batch of tracks that are nice to experience in the moment, but rarely anytime after. This doesn't mean there aren't a few glimpses of the full potential of Bleachers' musical direction; they're just crowded by much of the same heard on records past.

Sharp laments the weakening of expression though technology, which is fitting, as this applies to the album. Where there were once fireworks, the Rentals still deliver a bit of a lazer show.

Although there are no real revelations on Intermission, Shigeto demonstrates yet again what he does best.

The tech-house producer has attempted to cultivate his dusty electro landscapes, leaving the listener with seven hearty compositions built upon loose and fertile groundwork.

It's exciting to see artists try and change and evolve their sound, so while it doesn't always work here, Seth Bogart definitely shows enough promise to make one wonder what future non-Hunx recordings from Bogart will sound like.

Sure, there are more awesome parts on Wolves Within than you can shake a (drum) stick at, but so too are there plenty of misplaced ones.

Peace Is The Mission is equal parts tepid and garrulous, making it hard to get an overall read on this project. Probably best to not overthink it.

Where once we witnessed the group tilling the fields, Thrice Woven presents the bounty on a shining plate. WITTR still provide a plentiful feast, but the sense of having earned Mother Nature's gifts is diminished.

The record still meanders around a bit too much, in the way instrumental music can, not quite sure where it's heading when it should be soaring. When it does soar though, it hits some pretty giddy heights.

On Hormone Lemonade, Cavern of Anti-Matter have created an inventive piece of art that could have benefited from a bit of self-editing and a some of that old style vision.

Stars Are Our Home is too much of a hodgepodge.

While mere scribblings from a musical genius can often still trump the best efforts of many, this is not the case here.

Like every Chili Peppers album, the 13-track The Getaway suffers from bloat.

The result is a fine summer pop record that encourages listeners to approach as they will.

Despite the EP's virtues, that's a lot of excess fluff for a collection with just five tracks.

Civil Disobedience functions well as a single purpose stoner rock record, but fails to offer anything new or exciting.

Al Jourgensen's signature vocal bark remains unchanged, but things have slowed down musically. Fans of Ministry's lightning-fast thrash moments will be disappointed by the record's grinding pace.

It's in these moments--when he's paying attention to melody and songwriting--that Kiss Land demonstrates plenty of promise and tentative steps in the right direction.

As there's been no sign of new material from Paradinas in the past half-decade, Challenge Me Foolish is just interesting and familiar enough to keep µ-Ziq fans satiated, even if it is inferior to Royal Astronomy.

Beneath the Skin is too humdrum to garner any new acolytes.

As you can imagine, BE doesn't tread any new ground sonically, but for fans of the group, and likely Beady Eye themselves, it's a welcome distraction as we wait patiently for an Oasis reunion.

What drew people to Tuttle's music to begin with was that delightfully dissonant combination of sweet singing and monster-shredder guitar playing, and that's just not what this album delivers.

While there's room to reflect on things like dynamics and vocal mixing (Perry's ancient cackle sometimes gets blurred, patios aside), and while Perry is one of the best mixologists in history, Must Be Free is not his best.

Innocents contains some great vocal performances and catchy hooks, and despite the tent ropes being held down by the weight of mediocrity, it'll please many Play-era Moby fans and radio listeners as ideal background music for patio conversations about how their stocks are performing.

Antemasque isn't quite the return to form that fans of ATDI and Mars Volta might be expecting. As far as fresh starts go, however, it's a promising one.

While the half-tempo sections and increasingly unique guitar solos differentiate this material from that of the past, Everblack ultimately falls under the shadow of its predecessor.

Thanks to the lack of coherence or variety though, nothing on Die Lit really sticks. It's fun enough but, save for a few keepers, has the lifespan of a mayfly. Rock to it for the summer and forget most of it by September.

First Ditch Effort doesn't match NOFX's '90s peak, but it rights the ship somewhat, and goes a long way to re-establishing the group as worthy and relevant elder statesmen.

Despite its "six years in the making" descriptor, Allegiance and Conviction feels more like an EP of collected experiments toward a new, more realized work. A satisfying stop along the way to the main attraction.