Think of a visit to Nana's house reimagined as alt-Broadway musical theater. [29 Oct 2005]

while the first single, 'All You Did Was Save My Life,' provides some much-needed bite, "Burn Burn" is ultimately ballad-heavy and one-dimensional.

It's about average for albums from Prince proteges.

Power ballad 'What If' reveals that Tisdale can deliver the radio-ready goods, and 'Tell Me Lies' is convincingly spunky. But the rest of the material, as racy as it sometimes is, doesn't give the singer room to comfortably let loose.

Familiar, yes, but not unwelcome. [1 Oct 2005]

Try as the trio might to inform its '80s pastiche with an extra degree of menace, the disc ends up sounding like the same old Trans Am: part Rush, part "Miami Vice" soundtrack and part pranksters just taking the piss.

It often feels sluggish despite itself, and his lyrics show him riding against the same old Michigan wind with a voice that's grown haggard and curmudgeonly with time.

One can't help but think that by scaling back their ambitions, the Foos could have made one great album instead of two average ones.

Has its moments, but it comes across as a baby step forward.

The group seems incapable of integrating these traits into something new. It's either Morello re-writing his old licks for bash-and-thud Rage-style rawk or Cornell's more straightforward tension/release confessionals.

"Lucky" kicks off the proceedings; it's a buoyant, blistering winner of a song. Unfortunately, the track is also one of the disc's few high points.

Here, there are moments when he entertains us and other times when he doesn't.

Free Somehow, which marks the debut of new-ish guitarist Jimmy Herring, is no less of a tease, boasting three or four memorable songs (none mightier than 'Airplane') and the rest serviceable filler.

The band's writing stagnates, rendering the majority of the album in a rote midtempo formula that Stipe's increasingly trite lyrics can't always save.

Party Intellectuals contains enough noise and/or dead space to ruin the flow of many an iPod shuffle, but experimental jazz or avant-garde fans should find enough here to sink their teeth into.

Linkin Park's ambitions are nearly palpable, but songs likely conceived as homages end up sounding too close to their sources. [26 May 2007]

Unfortunately, for all the hype surrounding "Restless," Xzibit has lost some of the lyrical ferociousness that made his previous releases underground favorites.

There's an odd allegiance to the overblown prog-rock theatrics of Rush... and Yes... that seems incongruous alongside earnest Beatles homages... and straight-up, gloom-rock confessionals.

All the elements for a smart, catchy dance-rock album seem to be in place, but the final product still remains slightly unstructured and rehashed.

While Dulli's bitter, drunken voice remains front and center, the backup vocals and orchestras nearly make the songs sound like a parody, marrying a beast to a beauty.

What this channel lacks is true feeling and originality.

Songs such as the Rodney Jerkins-produced "Make It Last Forever" and "Get Up"... are surefire club hits, although such ballads as "It's Over" tend to fall flat. [9 Dec 2006]

The deafening dialectics often feel contrived, making Test Icicles sound like a fun "project," not a real band. [28 Jan 2006]

Many of Angel's midtempo tracks, while well-intentioned, fail to reach the lofty heights to which they aspire.

The band seems oddly restrained and processed through much of the album's 12 numbers.

The album doesn't really push the creative envelope and relies too heavily on guests at the expense of the principal artist. [15 Apr 2006]

Nostradamus isn't likely to surprise you--this is softcore for the hardcore.

This album is calm and relaxing almost to a fault. [26 Nov 2005]