It's perfect for backing music, but has enough going on that you might find yourself seeing mirages as well.

While it indeed works wonders in most places, it stumbles in a few, crossing over into an almost sickenly sweet radio-friendly territory that make me doubly wish for new Portishead material.

Inconsistent, but charming in places and insanely catchy in others, Everything/Everything presents Simon Bookish as someone to keep an ear out for.

Yes, the almost nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness lyrics are still there, but the sense of songwriting, melody, and even depth of instrumentation has been expanded upon.

Because this is a more personal affair, your tolerance for this release will largely depend on your acceptance of Martsch's voice.

If you're a fan, there's certainly stuff you'll enjoy here, but if you're looking for them to take another step forward, this might not suffice.

It's a much breezier affair, as if Air and Daft Punk have been cross-bred with The Notwist and Mouse On Mars.

It's not their best work to date, but it definitely taps into a deep well of both anger and despair.

It's pleasing, and sometimes outstanding, but it ultimately feels a bit too safe and soft.

Mostly a blast of fun.

It's not the sort of release that's going to really knock you out, but it's spry and sharp and arrives as just the perfect time in early summer.

Even the tracks that don't quite work don't miss the mark by much, and while there's nothing too flashy going on within, the solid overall quality of the 12 tracks and 50 minutes of music is somewhat of a rarity.

Floating somewhere in between his previous release under the Dntel name and The Postal Service, Dumb Luck will likely slightly frustrate fans of each a little bit, but in other places provide some nice payoff.

[The] longer track... just completely derails what would otherwise be a fairly solid and concise album.

While the group has done a great job of incorporating even more digital tricks and unique sounds into the mix, they've somehow managed to create a slightly more sterile environment.

Good, but not outstanding.

The biggest problem with the release is that it's simply a little too programmed for it's own good.

The disc as a whole has sort of an austere quality that lets some of the fun out of the sails.

It's not that The Slow Wonder is a bummer by any means, because it's not. It's simply not riding quite the same giddy highs as work by his previous groups.

Not as good as the best work from Kozelek, and a long shot from the worst, April is a solid, if not surprising album that should be just enough for fans.

While not every single thing they try works, it's still a very enjoyable listen.

It's still another unique and often-beautiful release from this young artist, but it doesn't feel quite as invigorating as his debut.

As with most other first releases, though, it's a a bit inconsistent in places, but all in all, Smoke is a fun and sometimes great debut from a young artist.

Point is playful and fun, and although it sometimes sounds like different tracks are constructed exactly the same as others, just with different instruments, it also makes for a much more cohesive release than his debut.

If there's one question to be raised with the album, it's that it's all simply so lush and nice that on some levels it fails to excite.

Over quiet, shuffling drum machine beats, the two spill out woozy guitars, vocals, and organs into slightly off-kilter pop nuggets that sound like they could have been made at any point in the past thirty (or more) years.

Fans of My Morning Jacket will most likely love this release, and I'm sure those who followed Carissa's Wierd will want to hear what half of that band has been up to since calling it quits.

There are some amazing songs on Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, but overall it still feels like a transition[al] release of a group really trying to nail things.