Not surprisingly, its 11 songs bristle with an urgency that more closely resembles (but rocks harder than) Travis' 1997 debut "Good Feeling" than 2007's sumptuously crafted "The Boy With No Name," with a decidedly uptempo countenance and plenty of room for lead guitarist Andy Dunlop's riffs, solos and fills.

Brad Paisley's mostly instrumental new set, which chronicles his self-described "love affair with the guitar," is both outstanding and diverse.

Nothing on the album is as catchy or as memorable as the Strokes' sharpest material, but several cuts sport a sweet Latin lilt, which helps distinguish the music from work by any number of similarly situated acts.

Deliciously decadent, Take It to the Limit has even more melodic power than its predecessor, delivering tons of guilty pleasures that sound fresh and familiar and strangely exciting.

Intimacy is the English dance-punk outfit's most urgent-sounding effort yet, and frontman Kele Okereke and his bandmates probably couldn't bear the thought of waiting two or three months for it to be heard.

It's a shame that the end result, the first under the Queen name in 13 years, is not very memorable.

The lush arrangements on 4:13 Dream don't build a Wall of Sound so much as a whitewater, where heavily distorted guitar and effects share momentum with fluid melodies and memorable pop hooks.

Snow Patrol handily manages the challenge of following up breakthrough album "Eyes Open" on A Hundred Million Suns.

On her confident fifth album, the multiplatinum hitmaker attacks her recent divorce in all styles.

Another winner full of eerie beauty and restraint.

Legend's voice remains beyond reproach, but for a guy who's an oasis of style and soul in a sea of synthetic, robo-call R&B, at times it seems like he's playing catch-up.

Musically, the band works up a handsome country rock sound with shades of the Rolling Stones and Wilco throughout, making room for swagger ('Fix It,' 'Magick') and sentimentality ('Natural Ghost,' 'Evergreen') in equal measure.

The full-length The Fame proves she's more than one hit and a bag of stage tricks.

His new album is not exactly like the last or the one before that, and is pleasantly surprising in its evolution.

Barnes isn't so much indulgent as he is overly ambitious and seemingly out of his mind, making Skeletal Lamping as wonderfully brilliant as it is weird.

The Sea & Cake has dabbled in electronic grooves and Brazilian lilt throughout its seven sleek albums, but the band has never quite let it rip like it does on Car Alarm.

Much has been made of the fact that Gang Gang Dance named this record after the patron saint of outcasts and rebels, but this effort shows more crossover potential than anything the act has ever done.

Call Me Crazy, the follow-up to her highly lauded "There's More Where That Came From," is Womack's best album yet.

Hank Williams III has always respected his lineage, but he gives it even more love at the outset of his poignant and pugnacious sixth album.

Dennen's tenuous vocals (and lyrics) are better suited to silly love songs than this sort of material, and though producer John Alagia knows how to make the guitars jingle and jangle and how to work up a soft, swimmy groove, Dennen needs a little more to rise out of the ever-growing multitude of sensitive guitar dudes.

The miracle of Aterciopelados is that it backs up its message songs with beautiful, infectious music. The Colombian duo's latest, Rio, is no exception

The seemingly ageless Australian rock combo mostly employs its same tried-and-true formula on the audio side of the Black Ice equation.

Perfect Symmetry bursts out of the gate with a suite of giddy, '80s-inflected Brit pop songs that, surprisingly, suit the band well.

Williams and Elvis Costello get their twang on for the spirited 'Jailhouse Tears,' and a combination of new elements (horns) and powerhouse playing by her touring band Buick 6 bolster the set's emotional heft.

While there's not a bad one in the bunch, once you've heard LaMontagne loosen up, you're left starving for more of it.

With this album, Costa comes defiantly into her own.

A nice teaser to satiate fans between proper full-lengths.

Kenny Chesney does heroes George Strait and Jimmy Buffett proud on his latest set, which has a free-and-easy feel befitting its island inspiration.