David Comes Alive – Fucked Up – It has the sprawl of a 1970's masterpiece, it has the ability to accumulate its effect, it has some very good strong, and Pink Eye conducts a vocal master class in post-hardcore and can even SCREAM MELODIES. It feels like a statement, it feels major, it feels important and you wanna give into it. And it has some just plain wonderful moments, the segue from "Truth I Know" to "Life In Paper" to name but one. But, the concept is hazy, the songs samey, the middle a drag and it is too long. Grade: A-
Good Bad Not Evil – Black Lips – "How Do You Tell A Child That Someone Has Died" is ironic only through placement at all. The rest is blues tinged pink rock and it broke the band through, helped a ton by "Bad Kids" and "O Katrina". Grade: B+
Arabia Mountain – Black Lips – I've been dismissive of Mark Ronson's production but that might be because I hated Record Collector so much. In reality, this is a highly focused collection of punk rock gems. Grade: A-
Cults – Cults – "Oh My God" is a very good pop song, and the Sleigh Bells unplugged concept might do them well if they wrote better songs. Grade: B
Hell: The Sequel – Bad Meets Evil – I am prevaricating on this. Eminem is in full Slim Shady mode. He is hard, nasty, spitting his hateful words. "The Reunion" is everything his last one wouldn't do. The songs though, I am unsure about them. Grade: B+
Nothing Is Wrong – Dawes – Soft Cali rock returns but it isn't consistent enough. Peaks enormously high but doesn't sustain it. Grade: B+
Goblin – Tyler, The Creator – The best album of the year also cuts closest to the bone. It has the stench of a life so real, neither Jigga, nor Yeezy nor Big Sean have considered it. Grade: A