It makes for a varied bunch if ever there was one, a set of songs that proves both deft and divine.

As so few acoustic instruments joined each song, placing them all together lends a flattened feel to the LP. That is not to say the songs are not worthy of several listens, Oran Mor Session displays Twilight Sad’s great lyricism and Graham’s impassioned voice.

A rather smooth and relaxing affair, Best Blues proves that sometimes less is more.

As the set progresses, Simon seems to shore up his resolve.

For all its shattered circumstance, Carry the Ghost makes the most of its heavy baggage.

The album opens, confusingly, with an electro-funk groove that becomes a trippy, multi-vocal chorale. Most of what follows is sprightly power-pop with psychedelic touches, dreamy asides and occasional dance-club thumps.

He came out the other side with a hard-won wisdom, emotion and sense of craft that, like soul music, never goes out of style.

The London trio has hit its stride, churning meatier, heavier grooves without sinking into sonic muck.

Being almost (there’s that qualifier again) conventional, Take It Like a Man may not hit the same highs for fans as White’s more seminal work, but it’s a solid set of songs given engaging performances.

[Once An Awesome Wave] maintains a steady jog and never quite sprints into action... Nevertheless, a creative effort from this new band, Alt-J shows promise and proves they can create hauntingly catchy melodies from irregular rhythms.

Too much of The Politics of Envy sounds like the mid-'80s acts that glued British pop back together after bands like the Pop Group smashed it to bits.

Heavy Mood has some good songs on it, but if you'd ask me which way to point I'd still say Bottoms of Barrels (the band's 3rd record).

Black Radio would have been more successful if the music used some of jazz's subtle spontaneity in the arrangements instead of satisfying itself by going for the easy laidback vibe.

Of the 13 songs here, roughly half are by male vocalists who, because of the twang in their voices or their choice of instrumentation, have a predictable, even generic, alt-country sound.

The album is not terrible, just not terribly original either.

If you're looking for something that's groundbreaking, thought provoking, unique and ultimately worth the money, don't bother.

Despite the obvious care for craftsmanship, no standouts emerge.

Brett Gurewitz’s buzzsaw guitars sound cool, but the blend of punk rock and carols turns out to be too predictable, so you know whether you need to hear this one even without hearing it.

The problem with 4everevolution is that it takes too long to get to the good moments.

Every Step's A Yes is a stylistic mish-mash with a few notable gems worthy of downloading.

Barfly's 11 tracks find a band unsure of which direction to take, eventually settling on a version of muddled garage rock.

The Midsummer Station isn't a terrible album; it just sounds as if big studio influence overshadows much of the reliable metaphors and creativity that made songs like "Fireflies" a hit.

The songwriting ... takes a bit of a dip on this one. Oh sure, the first few songs are pretty good but that's it, just pretty good.

In the end, though there are sublime moments on In Animal Tongue, the language of these insular and dark songs does not always translate well.

Long Vacations isn't a bad album per se (Rouse is too gifted a songwriter to make a genuinely bad album), but it has the sound of an uninspired one.

This album feels more like a curio of a bygone era rather than an overlooked gem.

The songs on Palindrome Hunches are certainly pretty and play perfectly as background music for a variety of endeavors (washing dishes, vacuuming, etc.) but not much on here really stands out and catches your attention.

Good as this is, it could be that much better.