Our weekly roundup looks at this week's biggest new album releases. For reviews of these and many more albums, visit Metacritic Music.

Rebirth, the seventh studio album for Lil Wayne, arrived in stores this week, and it is notable on several levels. For one, the phrase "arrived in stores this week" -- that's an accomplishment in itself, since the disc was once planned for an April 2009 street date only to be delayed repeatedly. Rebirth also marks a dramatic change in style for Lil Wayne, marking the rapper's first attempt at a "rock" album. If the critical reception is any indication, Lil Wayne should probably stick to rapping. The best review to date comes from Rolling Stone, which argues that Wayne "has very questionable taste in rock." It only goes downhill from there, with critics maligning his singing ability, lyrics, and music. The Los Angeles Times sums it up best: "'Rebirth' deserves its reputation as one of the worst albums of the year so far."

A blend of folk and indie-rock, The Courage of Others is the first album in four years for Texas band Midlake, and it ditches many of the classic rock elements found in its predecessor in favor of 1960s-style British folk. Despite throwing around labels like "leisurely," "meticulous" and "formal" (i.e., don't expect to rock out to this album), many critics were impressed by the disc, with musicOMH calling it Midlake's "masterpiece" and The AV Club finding Courage "stunning." Most reviews were positive if not so effusive, but there were some critics who found the new low-key approach lacking the power of Van Occupanther. The most negative review came from Pitchfork (who, it should be noted, did not love Midlake's previous album, either), which found the album "monochromatic," "wispy," and "stuffy," like a "museum piece," adding, "there's no bite to any of it, no intensity, precious little conveyance of emotion."

This ten-song set marks the "solo" debut for Jonas Brothers frontman (we use the term "man" loosely) Nick Jonas, who is operating with a new backing band (featuring former members of Prince's New Power Generation band) he's named The Administration. Only five reviews are posted so far, so that Metascore is subject to change, but Who I Am seems to be receiving neither acclaim nor disdain. The Los Angeles Times finds the album "a bit tentative," while Entertainment Weekly calls it "a wee bit dull." And the BBC thinks that Jonas' voice is much better suited to the Jonas Brothers' poppier material than it is to the more rock-oriented songs on Who I Am.

Basically a solo project for multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle (formerly a member of San Diego post-rock outfit Tristeza), The Album Leaf doesn't release many albums: the mostly instrumental A Chorus of Storytellers is LaValle's first new LP in four years, and his first to be recorded with a live band. The album was mixed at Sigur Rós' studio in Iceland with that band's engineer, Birgir Jón "Biggi" Birgisson. The critical reception was a bit icy, but many reviewers eventually warmed up to the disc. First, the bad news: All Music Guide said that the album "makes for better background music than a main attraction," while Tiny Mix Tapes complained that Chorus offered nothing new that we haven't already heard before from The Album Leaf (or other bands). Most of the other critics generally liked the album, but none were blown away; the album's charms, as Prefix hints, seem to be "mellow" and "subtle."

Next week in Metacritic

Here are a few of the albums we'll be reviewing next week at Metacritic.com:

Massive Attack: Heliogland
The innovative group's stripped down fifth album is their first release in seven years. NPR has a full album stream:

Hot Chip: One Life Stand
The increasingly popular British electro-pop outfit returns with a fourth album. Here's the title track:

Phantogram: Eyelid Movies
The debut LP from the indie-electro-rock duo is also streaming at NPR:

Also on tap next week: discs from Allison Moorer, Yeasayer, the Watson Twins, and rapper Young Jeezy, plus the first album from Sade in a decade.

Full Album Release Calendar