Instead, the religiosity that infuses the music recalls the forced eagerness of modern day evangelicals and the predictable plainness of suburban mega-churches. Only dedicated fans need ascend.

The peaks aren't as emotionally devastating as his studio work, but there's a hushed desperation here that gradually leaches into your pores.

Not as good as their first.

While We're New Here is spooky, it's more chill-out mix than futuristic minimal-rave, and comes as a less interesting culture-clash than, say, The Dirtbombs doing covers of Detroit techno songs.

With no standout tracks, Reptilians just becomes 40 minutes of innocuous, digital background music that's been done before.

Blessed certainly isn't a curse, but it doesn't exactly leave you feeling a higher power, either.

While bombastic and ambitious as ever, Tao suggests that Trail of Dead have once again lost the taste for subtlety and texture that's past served to elevate their sound from the prog pack.

The surviving Hackneys-bassist/singer Bobby and drummer Dannis-sifted through their early jams, rehearsals and demos for this ragged set of odds and ends.

The British quartet masquerading as a Japanese duo is back with its fourth full-length, Ventriloquizzing, bringing along a signature slinky groove and wordplay that borders on the absurd.

Where's the NoDoz? Chillwave may have officially become too chill, bros.

Funstyle's what would happen if M.I.A. joined a musical sequence on Saved by the Bell.

Ultimately, this collection is a series of album nearly-rans. This shouldn't undermine the songs, but it should reiterate how strong Weezer's records actually are (for the large part).

While Senior is sometimes reminiscent of Royksopp's stellar 2001 debut Melody A.M., it also feels like a poor man's attempt at an Air record.

From the Midlands to the Midwest, the mediocre couldn't be more on fire.

For all of the thought required, the album is still very natural and accessible.

Pairing synths with Springsteen is a formula that's worked well for The Killers' frontman before, but here the Lanois production begins to grate amongst the constant God imagery and every third line being a cliché.

Yet as delectable as the melodies are, Sex with an X seems like it's all been done before--and in fact, we know that it has.

Personal Life comes across dark, lost, and-shockingly for The Thermals-boring. At least Don and Betty Draper shared a bed for a little while.

Five of the songs don't feature Lanegan's vocals, and when Willy Mason shows up to sing two of them, it's a wonder why Hawk wasn't more truthfully labeled as "Isobel Campbell & Friends." Thematically deficient throughout, this is an outtakes release at best.

The result is a seamless yet stark poeticism that best represents MSHVB's overcast outlook on the world below.

The updated duo offers lollipop anthems that do not fit airy reverberations and methodical nuance of '90s era Hi Tek. Luckily, the suporting cast offers diversity to the sometimes misguided and underwhelming album. [Spring/Summer 2010, p.110]

Mid-tempo balladry and redundant choruses sap all the percussive vigor from this former song factory.

The ruminative, skittering TVOTR rhythmic patterns distract from Miranda's strengths even with the occasional injections of some easy-breezy horn lines or soul-jazz keys. [Winter 2010, p.100]

Amos said she wanted to reclaim the songs from religious appropriations, but in the end, she just barely save us all from complete shame. [Holiday 2009, p. 98]

Get Color may not be as revelatory as its predeccessors, but its slight merits gradually ooze into the wounds it so fiendishly creates. [Fall 2009, p. 102]

This one settles for regrettably generic high-plains fiddle and wistful sighs of pedel-steel guitar. [Summer 2009, p.94]

The band is not exactly daytripping here and there is a great fervor in what they do, but the fruit is not quite ripe. [Summer 2009, p.102]

No longer satisfied with the kitchen disposal, Eats Darkness just goes ahead and throws in the kitchen sink, tractor, uprooted tree, and any other incongruous items it can find. [Summer 2009, p.96]