Fortunately that art is unbelievably fucking dope, and that's mostly because of the significant drawcard of this production: the production. ... There is a level of hip-hop reflexivity here that I haven't heard since RTJ4.

The first album in a series of three (all with the same title, differing only in capitalizations) BLACKsummers'night isn't just the soul album of the year, but also a top-tier addition to the canon of a once-fizzling scene.

The band's latest intersperses melody with mania, and it's a moment of exceptional energy and creativity which should rank near the top of their career achievements to-date.

They've rarely sounded this in-tune with each other or this certain of their purpose. It's gorgeously arranged, amazingly textured, and evocative in ways that only patient music can be.

By listening to What Does It All Mean?, you're giving yourself a vital history lesson, a blast of fun, and above all, some 130 minutes of fantastic music.

Somehow heavier but feeling lighter than they have in years, meeting your gaze not with a self-deprecating shrug but a grimace and a snarl, Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs is a perfect sendoff to one of pop-punk's finest drummers and a victory lap for one of the genre's best acts.

There’s rarely a song here that isn’t beautiful: Fortino’s sense for gorgeous melodies, both instrumentally and vocally, simply shines throughout.

This album is the sound of an excellent singer, songwriter, arranger, and, I’d argue, thinker translating those strengths into some of the most stirring music you’ll hear this year. Loud City Song may not be loud, but the echo it makes is unforgettable.

Veckatimest works like a cash-back bonus, the more you give in to it, the grander the return.

A masterpiece of edgy, pop-infused rock composed with intelligence.

Major/Minor is just another testament to Thrice's ability to do no wrong.

The entire album is a collaborative project, in that sense; yet each song acts like a personal journal entry, documenting Justin Vernon's experience back with the living, after being with the ghosts of memory for some time.

England Keep My Bones finally gets the combination right and stands right alongside Love, Ire and Song as one of Frank Turner's best works.

Pretty much, Say Anything offers more for fans and opens up the Say Anything sound for new ‘users’ to come and enjoy. It’s the perfect balance of a step forward and a redaction to a more “safe” sound.

Dedicated Side B is more upbeat, energetic, and memorable than its counterpart, featuring hook-laden verses and explosive choruses that only came through intermittently on what we’ll refer to as Side A. It’s everything Dedicated was and everything that it wasn’t, all rolled into one. These songs don’t feel even the slightest bit unfinished. ... Her very best album to date.

Though it's a lengthy record, at just over an hour, it's a rewarding one.

The Bedlam in Goliath is simply an immense album.

Regina has basically mastered everything else too; it's hard to see her making a wrong move anytime soon.

Spectral Lines is a batch of quietly luminous tracks that feel just as interlocked as the secrets of the universe, sharing pianos that blossom to stunning effect, vocal harmonization that whisks your mind off toward the ether, guitars with just enough bite to lend traction, and seamless transitions that give the entire experience an effortless, elegant flow.

Spiral is a swoon worthy record, and one that cements Darkside as one of the brightest glowing acts of its kind.

It is a ferocious and captivating listen that twists and turns through the deepest darkest depths all the while pushing forward into new sonic territory.

Make a point of hearing one of the angriest, most intelligent, and subtly hopeful albums of 2012.

Option Paralysis equivocates the maturation of musical ideas over the Dillinger Escape Plan's storied career, as Miss Machine and Ire Works are currently looking as mere test samples leading up to this point. In all, Option Paralysis is a work of art, but don't think for a second they've gone soft on us.

It's their most accessible record both musically and lyrically.

Kris Esfandiari and her team have created something truly special with this album, a musical piece where the divine is given voice and flesh to envision what is Kris' most honest and enrapturing work of her prolific career, and be sure it won't be the last one.

[A] thrilling and possibly definitive album, it's impenetrable, multifaceted, and irrepressibly imaginative.

'Prisoner' is unquestionably a captivating LP where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, since the cohesive nature of its songwriting is clearly intended to suit a beginning-to-end listening experience and enhance longevity.

Lisbon is an album from a band finally using the full palette of their talents to adapt and come out the better for it, and that's a pretty picture to behold indeed.