Air is a masterpiece of production and gives the best few tracks from the entire collection. Earth is a cool-down lap after the more developmental and progressive preceding discs, showing a Thrice that is willing to trade in all that has made them great during their niche period (1999-2004) in favor of pursuing a less challenging but equally viable sound

Pfeffer is only 21 and already he has released an album that possesses a very original sound as well as an impressive amount of musicianship.

This album is surely a success, its just there is a lot of things that a great album like 'My Life in the Bush of The Ghosts' (which Ghosts sincerely seems indebted to) have that are missing here.

Walk It Off combines songs that attempt an idiosyncratic progression, but fail to expand upon things like, say, songwriting, with songs that struggle to capture a bright ol’ Indie Rock flame that was once there.

Accelerate’s songs are generally well-constructed, almost to the point of being formulaic- eleven alternative pop songs with no excess fat around the edges.

But really, it's Kozelek's voice in all its imperfect glory that makes April (and indeed all of his other work) as wonderful as it is.

The ambitious sound of The Bright Lights of America is a dreadful fifty-two minutes long; with an average song length over three minutes.

More often than not (and this is the kicker, ladies and gentlemen), Pretty. Odd. is just pretty dull.

Overall, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons shows A Silver Mount Zion at their hardest rocking, their most powerful, and their most irritating.

There's a minor detail to enjoy in almost every song on here, but the whole is average to the point of being physically sickening for anybody who fell in love with their magical debut.

Get Awkward, as an album, is a step up, and it certainly has highs and lows, but what I’m really missing here are things like "Bicycle Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle" or even “October, First Account,” songs that really stick out.

If there's one thing that defines Midnight Boom, it's the new sense of fun that The Kills seem to have discovered.

This is a great record but is very often hit or miss.

On the whole, The Odd Couple has a much more unified atmosphere, but in quality the album is sporadic and unpredictable.

She & Him's debut release is more like a collection of songs rather than a cohesive, fresh album, and as such, is a letdown for a singer that showed a lot of promise.

Crystal Castles is definitely a fun listen just don’t expect something highly experimental or interesting.

Visiter is an impressive sophomore album, a wonderful growth for the Dodos, and one of the year’s subtlest surprises, even if it took thirty listens to get there.

They’ve crafted a record that feels more like imitation than originality.

Alopecia stands out as an interesting little album.

Del sways wildly between hit and miss. And Eleventh Hour, for all its boisterous and awkward handling, fails with a resounding thud.

obZen is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging record, and is without question an early contender for metal Album of the Year.

Bouzilich however, does have some good ideas and there are some very good moments to be found on Hello, Voyager, it's just the convoluted mess of ideas that is the rest of the album overwhelms its strongest points.

Real Emotional Trash is a simultaneously funny and interesting record, shaped with just the right kind of meticulous care to strengthen its band-jam aesthetics.

This represents a new territory for both Dulli and Lanegan, and it's one that they (generally) excel in.

The changes Murder by Death have brought with Red Of Tooth and Claw are a sufficiently demanding and acceptable result.

Float is rescued from abject tedium by the deep, poetic lure of the subject matter and a couple of genuinely outstanding compositions in ‘Float’ and ‘(No More) Paddy’s Lament.’

From the first minute till the last, this is enthralling, invigorating stuff, and because of that it's comfortably the duo's best album yet.

New Amerykah reveals its considerable depths and strengths, and invites the listener to invest the time needed to explore them.