Sometimes evocative of Joy Division on PCP, sometimes of Arab on Radar on codeine, Ian MacKaye's production maintains the right balance of tin-can sounds with bullfrog disco stylings.

Knitting Needles & Bicycle Bells is a near perfect collection of four-minute songs that recall a more ragged XTC, the skewed pop/rock style of The Kinks, and The White Album-era Beatles.

Manzanita may be too diverse to be cohesive, but it is filled with interesting songs and the continued potential for great things.

Greater accessibility does not necessarily mean higher quality.

As the album wears on, however, it becomes clear that Einstürzende Neubauten has spent more time cultivating their bristling sonic elements than exploring compositional variety or subtlety.

Little Heart's Ease is a respectable effort - just not by Royal City standards.

Particularly striking is the group's ability to mix vast instrumental soundscapes with subtle electronic manipulations, creating a synthesis of analog and digital elements that is visionary in its sonic impact.

Sewed Soles makes out decently for a greatest hits disc.

The record may have a little less electronic slink than prior efforts, but it has a propulsive energy, even in the mid-tempo tracks, that makes the record easy to like.

LaValle demonstrates that he is one of post-rock's strongest artists.

This is a headphone record of the highest order, where every last detail should be isolated against your ears and pored over.

The fusion of The Books' folk stylings and traditional instrumentation (cellos, banjos, clavinets) with Prefuse's hip-hop stutter-funk produces fresh moments, just not as many as desired.

Black Dice doesn‚t shy away from risks, and this record is just as daring as Beaches and Canyons or Creature Comforts.

Moments of the overfed ambience familiar to the band's debut, Feel Good Lost, poke through as the album drags on.

This is an ambitious album that aims high but falls short.

What the band lack in cohesion they make up for with a healthy mania.

A loose, engaging collection of songs that won’t knock your socks off the first time you hear it, but begins to work its way under your skin on subsequent spins.

Last Night is as moody as funk can get, and the results range from soulful to pretentious.

With more room to breathe, the textured synthesizers come to the fore, and it is their melodic decoration that ultimately provides the saving grace. But without the electronic textures, Love and Distance is just Bryan Adams with a hip producer and a great drummer.

Absolutely brutal.

There's a very good record in this band. This isn't it.

A debut album so confident and flawlessly developed it seems more like the work of a band hitting its mid-career creative peak.

This is an absolutely satisfying listen and a feat of songwriting that few acts could match.

So Jealous has a broad appeal, nicely connecting the dots between Avril Lavigne and Joan Jett, but shouldn't be slighted by the latter's fans for it's immediacy.

This turn for the yee-haw is a bit mystifying but hardly a mistake; Howl is exactly the cry the BRMC needed to make.

While it feels like they're still finding their way and discovering what they're capable of, it's clear there's potential for greatness and longevity.

The band plays a raucous, shifting rock heavy on drama, but light on reasons to keep listening.

The problem with Blueberry Boat is that, while it's a musical marvel, it's not an album that I'll keep listening to.