He lets his imagination paint the details. That's the role of an artist. And while he may be singing lies, that's okay, because one can find the truth in the fiction.

Even with its missteps--[Sun] is her most patient and generous record to date.

Comes across as kinda dull.

The album’s biggest failing is that it sounds too much like his past three albums. But this also gives this record strength.

Hot Shit immediately announces its intention to be a purposely difficult listen, and the difficulty persists through the album's eleven tracks.

Revival is neither the great album nor the disappointment many are proclaiming it.

It’s disorienting and congealing at the same time, so it’s very ‘John Maus’, as in it is simple but oh so complicated.

Overall, Sainthood is heavier than previous efforts, both lyrically and musically, and old fans will probably appreciate what this pair has accomplished together. However, for a new listener, the album might come off as a somewhat hard swallow; the songs are often too produced, and may even lack some honest musicality at their core.

Bishop’s self-indulgence stunts any suggestion that anyone other than a serious aficionados is going to express anything more than passing interest.

On this, their second album, MONEY have created a difficult listen on two levels. Firstly, in creating a collection of songs which, if not directly about suicide, often convey a hopeless state of mind and heart. Secondly, owing to the awkward collision of some fine playing with a largely monotonous production and some painfully strained singing from vocalist/guitarist Jamie Lee.

Antenna is lacking in every sonic department they previously thrived upon and sounds exactly what fans of old feared: immaculate, sterile guitar production; rigid, radio-ready song structures; and an end to the dynamic, cosmos-exploring sound that elevated Jupiter to a stunning success.

The Wolf is a primer on self-actualization, but AWK's sharpened focus comes at the expense of creating memorable tunes.

The album’s structure collapses under its own weight thanks to questionable production and a plot that never becomes cohesive. Still, Monch’s bars are among the best in the game. Put his words over shoestring production and your jaw would still drop.

Local Business has lots of fascinating things to say about control but sometimes it gets lost in its own unruly order.

It’s another solid chapter in Friel’s musical story. In spite of that, it’s also an album that sometimes feels like its missing a layer or two.

For a smooth talker like Common, talking through his ruminations could easily lead to talking around them, so on Nobody’s Smiling, he leaves a lot of the talking to others.

If it's not a leap in the right direction, it's at least a big step.

On Relax, Das Racist, at worst, deliver an album that tries too hard to sound like every other rap album out there.

This smart and sophisticated country-rock however, is punctuated by uninspired songs that sound like outtakes from Recovering the Satellites.

By destroying the momentum of the of the new record by tossing in a trio of very weak songs that are the very definition the word "filler", what could have been a landmark hard rock double album becomes merely a good one.

If this album could have received the editing it needed, it would have made for an extraordinary EP.

Criminal Heaven is a band doing incredible things half of the time and okay things the other half.

It’s not that there isn’t anything to love in Songs from the North—there’s plenty, especially on II and III. Instead, the listener is given far too much. With such excess, “too much of a good thing” though it is, diminishing returns are bound to follow.

There are a handful of songs here that go a touch beyond just recreating an earlier style, and those are the best ones. If The Cactus Blossoms can expand their ear for detail more consistently into their songwriting and lyrics, they can be flat out great. But they aren’t quite there yet.

For the most part, the original album is not all that interesting and frequently can be lame with pretentious lyrics and generic jamming. There is nothing special for most listeners on the bonus disc.

As is, Solid Gold U-Roy has its heart in the right place; even if, as an unexpected epitaph, it doesn’t quite do justice to its namesake’s pioneering spirit.

"Family Farm" and "Heavy Covenant" are fun sing-a-longs that wouldn't have been out of place on the band's most popular records. As an album, though, Open Door Policy isn't very inspired.

Discover a Lovelier You will certainly satisfy Pernice's empathetic fan base, but when all is said and done, its highlights aren't nearly as insistently obvious as the Brothers' paramount achievements.