Endearing sour trumpet and recorder notes on uptempo tracks like 'Judy and Her Dream of Horses' and a stunning 1998 version of 'Slow Graffiti' capture the essence of early Belle & Sebastian, while the four unreleased songs from 2001 find the group experimenting with funky, spoke-sung vocals ('Shoot the Sexual Athlete') and haunting atmospherics ('Nothing in Silence').

This is a confident, competent new direction from one of rock's most intriguing figures.

Throughout, she romps with creative abandon, thankfully unafraid of stretching the boundaries lyrically and musically.

It all adds up to a collection that successfully sets Hanson apart from the current teen-pop phenomenon that it helped start -- at least from a creative perspective.

Most of the time, however, the band makes a righteous racket that straddles the worlds of prog rock, funk, fusion jazz and world music, with Eastern motifs spicing 'Aberinkula' and a bit of cosmic blues making its way into 'Conjugal Burns.'

The band's cadre of dedicated followers will no doubt forgive the dark direction as they file the disc in with their numerous other classics.

[The Bad Plus] aren't exactly reinventing jazz, but they are up to the task of aggressively disdaining genre conventions, in terms of upending arrangements, going with eclectic programming, and revamping their instruments' respective roles.

This is the throat-clutching Ministry that longtime fans have been waiting for: a grand mix of industrial rock and murder metal.

Unlike recent collections Music and Ray of Light, the lyrical content of American Life relies less on spiritual introspection and more on woman-in-the-mirror confrontation.

A substantial addition to the band's catalog.

They churn out seriously fun, ballsy rock tunes with a wink and a nod.

Whether you prefer him shouting vitriol on the picket line or whispering sweet nothings in the bedroom, you'll find plenty to enjoy here.

On the Jodeci-sampled 'You're Everything,' Bun B rhymes about his love for his hometown of Houston, while poverty, politics and spirituality dominate the reflective 'If It Was Up to Me.' But the most heartfelt track on the album is the one dedicated to Pimp C, 'Angel in the Sky.'

"Okonokos" delivers as powerful a wake-up call to the ears as seeing MMJ in the flesh.

Stone remains impressive as a vocalist, an old-school soul with an understated delivery that's more hushed than histrionic.

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.

Improvisatory and poetic, Bardo Pond has more in common with avant-jazz and contemporary classical than with most heavy rock.

The band's collective songwriting skills impress frequently.

Scialfa's third and most accomplished solo album.

"American Idol" season six runner-up Blake Lewis' debut, "ADD: Audio Day Dream," is indeed a little all over the map, but, surprisingly, it works.

This is a live album the way it ought to be produced: sincere and surprising, a true alternative to your well-worn copies of the studio recordings.

Shows a sure production sense to match the ever-perceptive singer/songwriter's observations on life and love.

Populated with high, lonesome soundscapes that condense the Americana epics of last year's "Black Letter Days" into concentrated studies of tears-in-the-whiskey depression.

A stunning shot of muscular, melodic rock.

Tom Smith's emotive vocals and the dense wall of guitars strike the perfect balance between moody, underground noise and more accessible, arena-bound rock.

Saying that Jack Johnson's fourth record is languid and breezy is a little like saying the Cubs probably won't win it all this year, but Sleep Through the Static takes Johnson's über-chill, barefoot-in-a-hammock vibe to new heights--or mediums, depending on how you look at such things.

A mature effort that shines with nakedness and clarity.

It's a rich, engaging set that reveals something new with each listen.

The Miami-bred MC Rick Ross has faced a number of career obstacles in recent months--from damaged street credibility to a multi-episodic beef--so it's all the more impressive that on his third album, Deeper Than Rap, he presents his most cohesive work yet.

A recording not to be missed.

Sweepingly beauteous and mesmerizingly rhythmic, The Isness offers pleasures equally suited to explorers of dancefloors or headphones.

Shakira, of course, is unmistakable. But the coup is that each track is absolutely distinctive, even on several songs with no clear-cut choruses or hooks.

Sia still brings enough weird on Some People to satisfy old-school fans.

The result is simple and sparse, but more satisfying than heavier-handed electronic projects.

Cook bursts back with Brighton Port Authority, a project that liberates him from the "electronic dance artist" identity crisis and allows his production talents to shine.

The Brooklyn quartet Grizzly Bear has earned a reputation for dense sonic buildups and gorgeous harmonies, and the group's third album "Veckatimest" excels on both accounts.

The breakdowns on songs like "Dee-Ree-Shee" and "You in Color" truly highlight each member's technical and dynamic abilities; the crescendos emphasize their quantum power to make great art as a group.

The album could serve as an excellent point of entry for a new crop of fans.

Gore's reworkings sparkle with visceral emotion, aching vulnerability, and sublime intensity.

It is exactly what the band needs to boost itself to the next level of pop-punk prowess.

A modest but consistently satisfying affair, rich in music and message.

Nine of the album's dozen songs were written by Partridge, and each unfolds like an act of a melodious Shakespearean play -- lyrics drenched in imagery and metaphor, plots twisting through the experience of love and betrayal.

A strong effort that trades sunny-sounding rockers and breakup songs for weightier concerns of war and family, "Lights" conveys that maturity without seeming strained. [28 Jan 2006]

With his raw, raspy baritone voice, he paints vivid, usually empathetic pictures within an instrumental context that is rife with refreshing live beats and sharply drawn guitar and keyboard lines.

Toby Keith has developed into a superstar for a reason, and he keeps getting better.

A collection of blistering rock songs and alcohol-laced laments.

Harvey's mostly bare arrangements, stark vocal delivery and razor-sharp lyrics add up to a poignant, haunting rumination on what makes--and breaks--a life

While it doesn't have the cohesive impact of "Hot Fuss" or "Sam's Town," it's an appealing set that brings a bit more breadth and depth to the group's catalog.

His voice has thankfully improved from record to record; like grain alcohol, it's gruff and eye-opening, well-suited for Crooked Fingers' pop-folk tangents.

Those looking for peak-hour club music are advised to look elsewhere, but those in search of quirky aural landscapes to play alongside their Groove Armada and Bent discs need to investigate lemonjelly.ky. [Critics Choice]

While lyrically his songs are top-drawer, Thompson's guitar prowess is also noteworthy. [13 Aug 2005]

Morissette's superb lyrics leave you cheering for her--and assured that she's going to be just fine.

It's a pleasingly indulgent collection of songs, stories and detours that will be something of a treasure for longtime fans and packs at least a dozen treats for relative newbies.

The acronym that forms the title of their latest stands for "The Energy Never Dies," and they more than make good on that promise, blasting through 15 high-powered rave-rap jams that rarely lack for melodic hooks or rhythmic thrust.

Features some of the group's most focused and seductive work ever.

The real virtue of Lucky One, as on all of his previous efforts, is Malo's voice, a full, rich tenor that conveys dramatic emotional sweep without gratuitously emotive technique.

The threesome is best when trading verses and flaunting its ample talent on strummy singalongs like 'Just About Time.'

Ghost sounds so together that even its nods to jazz fusion and prog rock sound utterly convincing.

Always a risk-taker, he remains fearless in his choice of material, evident here on sweeping, observant fare like "Drugs or Jesus" and the ultimately redemptive "Kill Myself."

On Free at Last, he demonstrates that being forced to cool his heels since 2003 hasn't dulled the rough edges of his appealingly hectic flow.

If it all seems messy, it isn't. GCH sounds like an American utopia, where everyone coexists joyfully and thrives on the diversity.

The chaotic electronic density of U2's last few efforts has been replaced by sticky, bite-size tunes -- sporting candy-sweet choruses that are often underlined by unabashed words of love.

Busted Stuff is marked by luxuriously long tracks that maximize the skills of the band.

Sounds like something carved out of the earth, a soulful howl of Hendrixian guitars and Zeppelin stomp.

Each of Ladd's compositions are moody yet ethereal.

On his first release since reuniting the original Joe Jackson Band in 2004, Jackson is at the top of his game as a writer, singer and player.

Some of these songs about life, love, family, friends, and the world seem subtly laced with lyrics inspired by the terrorist attacks, which helps make Are You Passionate? seem not only like a great next step in Young's career but also the best album he could have issued right now.

Breathtaking and beautiful, as well as haunting and bleak...

With accompaniment as varied as vocals from Ollabelle and Brazilian percussion from Mauro Refosco, White still keeps us off balance with rich, unpredictable textures ("Diamonds to Coal") that convey lost-in-the-backwoods disorientation ("Counting Numbers in the Air").

The group aims to shed the "freak folk" misnomer once and for all with a gorgeous collection of rustic folk rock.

By scaling warm guitar lines, keen melodies, and a valuable sense of history, these Sparks continue to fly.

Raw and emotional.

The songs on Elephant Shell are a sensible progression from the Strokes-like hooks of earlier material, showing an increasing sophistication. As with before, the brilliance is in the brevity.

His reports here from the streets ('Me and My Goons'), the boudoir ('Spend the Night') and the hospital room ('Family Straight') sizzle with a stripped-down immediacy that makes good on the album's title; few MCs seem as committed to a warts-and-all presentation as Plies.

There is plenty to love here, so don't be surprised when you find it has become the current soundtrack to your life.

Common has made a record that follows the same formula as its predecessor. Not a bad move considering the success of the four-time Grammy Award-nominated "Be."

Morgan simply lets his rage rock, infusing the album with the same kind of active/ alt-rock straddling approach that's vaulted Seether's previous releases to gold status.

Perfectly Clear is not only persuasive, but down-home, old-school country.

Drawn From Life features some of Eno's most tightly structured and accessible music in years.

"Ga Ga" stand out as a fun, if somewhat peculiar, addition to the Spoon catalog.

Train sounds refreshed and relaxed on "For Me, It's You." [4 Feb 2006]

The disc proves Anastasio doesn't need his old bandmates to sizzle, but ought to get back to doing what he does best: kicking out the jams.

Sweeping violins and take-no-prisoners guitars co-exist in producer Tony Visconti's gorgeous glam frame for Escovedo's visionary sound.

Despite Meloy's lofty vocabulary and penchant for themes of antiquity, Decemberists albums are consistently generous with great tunes and charm, and "The Hazards of Love" is no different.

An adventurous singer/songwriter just like her sister Shelby Lynne, the vocally gifted Moorer doesn't shy away from bucking country tradition. In fact, she seems to revel in it.

Though audibly relaxed in their freedom from the label system, the duo delivers a few real emotional stunners.

A wonderfully subtle, often moving collection of acoustic tunes that illuminates Young's incomparable tunesmithing and a voice that can deliver volumes of emotion and subtext in a simple phrase.

The songs here hit with a full-on assault of crunching guitar riffs, distorted, cracked vocals and walls of disorienting feedback, while lyrically, frontman Ben Gibbard visits the moodier and darker corners of his mind.

Dan Auerbach has veered off the garage-rock path now and then throughout the Black Keys' career, and this solo debut reaffirms that he's no one-trick pony.

Whatever their inspiration, new cuts like the oddly pretty 'Lose You' and 'Billionaire,' the latter of which features a fiery cameo from Shunda K of Yo Majesty, throb with unexpected vitality.

Smith bundles subtlety and ferocity to create one of his heart-aching best.

A milestone effort.

Bright guitar hooks, expansive piano and Jimi "Jazz" Prescott's driving bass create tracks like "Wiggle Worm" and "Georgia Brown" that are as engrossing as they are stress-reducing.

Despite detractors, Simpson remains a gifted vocalist who delivers on most every cut.

Jim Jones may be rolling out his fourth studio album (and first major-label release) with off-Broadway plays, documentaries and a movie, but don't get it twisted—the Harlem-born rapper hasn't lost his grime.

A rock-fused, hook-friendly set that ably distances the Philly native from her pop/R&B origins.

The album is laced with spacey, distorted guitar fuzz, delicate '60s pop melodies, groovy basslines and winsome lyrics that coalesce into a unified group of songs from start to finish. [17 Feb 2007]

Marah manages to convey the manic energy that makes it such a great performer, and the result is its best album yet.