The bum-outs outnumber the bangers by a decisive ratio on Ludaversal, but that speaks to the rapper's comfort in straddling dissimilar topics.

The music is more subdued than My Chemical Romance's, but Way's still not as understated as the influencers he's channeling. His storied themes of love and pain pop up throughout Hesitant Alien like embarrassing Facebook statuses. It's a largely smooth transition out of the dark and into the bright world of pop.

It's a quick listen, clocking in at less than 45 minutes, and the 10 tracks are laid-back--perhaps too much.

On its eighth full-length release, Glasgow, Scotland, indie pop group Belle & Sebastian ditch their sad-vibes-hidden-by-happy-melodies schtick in favor of legitimately upbeat songs.

The problem is that the hints of personality underneath the braggadocio overflowing on "Based on a T.R.U. Story" exist as faint flickers, pointing to a storytelling skill that has yet to be given the spotlight.

Given Healy's winsome vocals and his good-guy image, the grab at gravitas doesn't always connect.

Lil Wayne is back with the equally confounding Dedication 4, a messy rehashing of this year's respective rap bangers.

The band's first release since 2003, "The Chair in the Doorway," is too scattered -- and occasionally silly -- to make a serious re-impression.

Although the cleaner melodies and pop polish seem to mute the rapper's stream-of-consciousness salvos, he still shines on "Drop the World," featuring Eminem.

At times, Here Lies Love wobbles as a concept album, and listeners unfamiliar with Marcos' story may not initially understand the lyrical conceits. But it contains enough solid material to justify repeated listens.

Although a love for hydro is Cypress Hill's claim to fame, it's the more substantial tracks on "Rise Up" that smoke the competition.

Throughout Can't Be Tamed Cyrus seems checked out of her vocal performances, singing with neither the tween-queen enthusiasm of her Hannah Montana material nor the confrontational energy of 2008's Breakout.

Willowy Los Angeles art-rock group Warpaint summons a remarkably heady atmosphere on its debut album, The Fool, which follows a buzzed-about EP released last year on Los Angeles-based indie Manimal Vinyl.

Simply put, Weezer needs to exorcise the metal demons and find a balance that works.

The fresh material isn't likely to expand your idea of who Bret Michaels is.

Most of these strummy feel-good ditties-aw-shucks song titles include "Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes" and "Taking On the World Today"-make Jason Mraz sound like some kind of avant-garde noisemaker.

Interpol is undoubtedly a solid effort, but solid shouldn't be satisfying for a band that has proved to possess the talent of indie rock's elite class.

Clearly, Lambert has talent, but on Heart she's merely scratching the surface.

The album is a sprawling, experimental work defined more by ambient synth hum and field-recording rustle than by melodic hooks or danceable grooves.

Hood Billionaire lands in a dull gray area between feel-good retro rap (its first two singles are the Memphis homage "Elvis Presley Blvd" and the pleasant but forgettable jazz jangle of "Keep Doin' That [Rich Bitch]") and Rozay greatest-hits karaoke that tries and fails to recapture the impact of his bulletproof Teflon Don bombast.

Smoke + Mirrors may seem too recycled and belabored to entice the unconverted, but the hints of hidden depths are a pleasant surprise.

Lyrics like "You don’t have to be big and tall/To stand up and hold your own" (from "Miracles") play like inspirational memes. Still, their hearts are in such the right place that it's hard to totally root against them.

Who I Am is so polished and adult-sounding -trading teen pop moxie for organ and slide guitar-that one is left wondering whether the same songs about love, heartbreak and political curiosity wouldn't be a more satisfying evolutionary step in the hands of a scrappier troupe.

None of these tracks can match the best cuts on the act's first two albums for sheer catchiness.

Unfortunately, "Year" lacks the grandiose thematic concepts of previous outings as well as an immediate single, like past songs "A Favor House Atlantic" or "The Suffering."

Shock Value II packs plenty of heat from the layered beats, but never lets Timbaland shine as the artist he wants to become.

The tunes are competently rendered, but that actually makes them worse: That these guys are selling out shows as what amounts to a cover band is the kind of thing you need to be super-baked to wrap your head around.

Stone is clearly still finding her sound and, if Water is any indication, herself, too.