If the tasteful, lissome country-folk backing of steel guitar, fiddle, piano, drums, and harmony vocals from Cindy Wasserman is a tad shy of adventurous, the sound suits the ripe, romantic, and dreamy mood of Phillips's songs.

His first recording of his own material in four years reminds that he has few peers among contemporary singer-songwriters.

The Outsider may be a cut below its predecessor, the artistic, critical, and commercial breakthrough that was Fate's Right Hand--perhaps the element of surprise is gone, perhaps the songs aren't quite as sharp, perhaps it's just not possible to catch lightning in a bottle twice in a row--but that was a tough act to follow, and this one's none too shabby.

Mitchell's songwriting shines brightest at such singularly poignant moments where specificity of images meets the vagaries of the instrumental arrangements, and, in the end, these and other highlights ('Bad Dreams,' 'Night of the Iguana') definitively carry the torch.

Jesse Sykes is hard to pin down--and that's a good thing indeed.

The entire album is seamless and offers new facets with each listen.

It's pretty dour stuff on the whole, but delivered with playfully melodic wit and a certain poetic resignation usually found only in the hearts of forgotten souls and madmen (and maybe Tom Waits).

Happiness in Magazines is riddled with glorious pop songs, and in a sane world would yield several hit singles. [Amazon UK]

Smith adds subtle layers of piano to the formidable 'Wild West Love Song' and the bluesy, Zeppelin-like 'Jesus in the Temple.' But even more newsworthy, her jazzy stylings have rubbed off on the Bielankos.

Blige, never far from the thoughts of the lovelorn, didn't need a breakthrough, but anybody with an ear for artful confession will be glad she's given us The Breakthrough anyway.

Watershed has an intimate feel and a sophisticated sound that highlights the warmth in Lang’s voice, the maturity of her songwriting and the simple beauty of her arrangements.

The album serves as both an ambitious travelogue and as a graceful rejoinder to the bitterness and frustration that inspired it, with Amos wading through swells of sadness ("I Can't See New York"), anger ("Don't Make Me Come to Vegas"), and insecurity ("Your Cloud") with velvety grace.

[It] has more powerful and propulsive arrangements than is often the case with the artist.

Trash's capriciousness and experimental willingness are what gave Malkmus an audience in the first place--and what promise to keep it coming back for more.

Lead single 'Rainin in Paradize' alone should propel Chao (née Oscar Tramor) into the kind of stateside fame he's long enjoyed in Europe and South America.

What we have here is easily Mr. Young's finest work in years, one that erases the memory of his well-intentioned but anemic 2006 protest album, "Living with War."

District Line, Mould's seventh solo album, is a swell follow-up to his bracing 2005 return-to-rockishness record "Body of Song."

One of his best-balanced albums in years.

The first studio release by the Sadies in three years represents a big sonic advance.

It's not Blur, the Clash, Fela, the Verve, or Gorillaz. It's more than just names on albums.

An impressive, mature effort that expands a predictable Brit-pop sound into something with varied textures, shades and nuance.

Grand National's main skill lies in their ability to twin their fine songs to tight electronic productions, striking the perfect midpoint between live organics and cool digital sequencing.

While the material seems to document the end of a relationship and the hope for romantic renewal, there's a freewheeling playfulness to the arrangements.

A return to form in every way.

Even the contemporary numbers sound like classics.

Coyne is a shrewd observer of human nature, and an even shrewder songwriter and this album stands as his greatest and most varied work yet.

Imagine the Mars Volta undergoing electroshock treatment or Blonde Redhead at war with an army of feral cats.

The curiously titled Reunion Tour (four years between albums but they never disbanded) ups the lyrical ante ever more with contagious tunes like 'The Last Last One,' 'Hymn of the Medical Oddity,' and 'Relative Surplus Value.'