The track "Water in Hell" is an anthemic rocker with a catchy, shout-along chorus ("From what I can tell/There's water in hell!"), and "Forced to Love" combines the band's usual grit and a hook that unexpectedly sticks, similar to "Cause = Time" from its 2002 breakthrough release, "You Forgot It in People." Strangely enough, the new album's less pop-driven songs are hit or miss.

Cosmogramma may evade complete comprehension, but Flying Lotus' foreign and colorful arrangements entice even the most casual listener.

The fresher feel on the Vancouver group's new set could partially be attributed to frontman Carl Newman's openness to collaborating with his peers.

The set is full of the Deftones' usual energy and showcases singer Chino Moreno's knack for alternating between screams and sweet vocal delivery over heavy, complex guitar work.

With erotic themes, smooth production and the use of a Japanese Omnichord synthesizer, the band's fourth album, OMNI, proves that there's still plenty to explore.

Robison and Maguire prove capable of crafting galloping, catchy choruses for such songs as "The Coast," "Ain't No Son," "It Didn't Make a Sound" and "I Miss You."

When Braxton isn't sulking about heartbreak, she's enjoying being a woman.

While "The Oracle" is certainly familiar, it still sounds fresh enough and well worth the wait for fans who prefer their Godsmack served up straight.

Nobody's Daughter recalls the highlights of the band's critically acclaimed 1994 album, "Live Through This," and shows that, as a band, Hole is not one bit damaged.

Although his group has made its mark on the metalcore underground, Tuck spends most of the Welsh quartet's new album spewing venomous tirades at a variety of villains who have done him wrong. But he does it in a polished fashion that makes "Fever" the band's most commercial outing yet.

Her 10th studio album, "The Age of Miracles" (and second on Rounder following a run with Columbia that yielded five Grammy Awards), adds a familiar yet essential new chapter to her rich catalog.

With the help of heavyweight producer Rick Rubin, Gogol Bordello's major-label debut, "Trans-Continental Hustle," maintains the band's ethno-clash dance party reputation, but with less punk attitude and a more mainstream songwriting approach.

The opening track, "Don't Let Me Fall," showcases the rapper's smoothed-voice singing talent and vulnerability ("They say what goes up must come down/But don't let me fall") over a booming guitar, while "Magic" (featuring Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo) takes a more pop-driven direction.

Produced with plenty of rock-radio muscle by her original guitarist, John Shanks, the 12-song set comes packed with the kind of room-rousing choruses Etheridge specialized in during her early-'90s commercial heyday

The British vocalist was pegged as a Beyoncé-style pop/ R&B diva during an abortive mid-decade Los Angeles stint. But escaping that environment allowed her to develop the genre-straddling, retro-modern mélange of Travelling Like the Light, which was released overseas last July.

Caribou's newest set, "Swim," which contains more electronic elements than its pop-traced predecessor, is a major step forward for Snaith.

Some fans may miss Wainwright's more complicated orchestral numbers, but a single piano is all that's needed to show off his immense vocal talent.

Helmed by producer T Bone Burnett, this is front-porch, rural and rustic country music. Nelson is perfect in this setting, however, as he brings his weathered but expressive pipes to percussion-less arrangements of such gems as Ernest Tubb's "Seaman's Blues," Merle Travis' miner's lament "Dark As a Dungeon" and the smooth stride of Bob Wills' "Gotta Walk Alone."

On its fifth studio album, "Fire Away," Ozomatli shows a remarkable ability to innovate with its most expansive and energetic set in years.

It's not so much that Merle Haggard has established himself as an American gem on his ambitious releases in the past decade; it's that we finally took notice.

Kurupt's distinct slurred-barking cadence lends itself well to the anthems on "Streetlights," an impressive albeit uneven release.

Despite its retro influences, MGMT isn't out of touch: "Lady Dada's Nightmare" is an eerie, instrumental nod to a certain pop star. So to answer Vanwyngarden's question: Yes, it's working.

It's the balance between delicate guitar, lush cello and the singer's rich vocals on "Brooklyn Fawn" that proves Matt Pond PA is ready to stretch out, not compromise.

The broad spectrum of genres Merchant explores also prevents the set from feeling overlong. She has returned with a painstakingly constructed record that feels light and nimble, a credit to her still-impressive talent as a songwriter.

The 10-track set, which contains multiple sounds and styles, gives a brief glimpse into both artists' scattered versatility.

Bowie is back, and thanks to better technology, these special editions of "Raw Power" sound right on the money. But the story here is the extras.

Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros may be on an indefinite hiatus, but the group's enigmatic singer Jon Thor Birgisson, better-known as Jonsi, is filling the void with his first solo album, "Go."

"I Learned the Hard Way" finds an eminent R&B band playing within its comfort zone and Jones continuing to distinguish herself as a multilayered frontwoman.

Balancing these cheery influences with the melancholy prose is the name of the game. The lively accordion and clanky piano on the song "Shadow People" recall Bob Dylan's 1974 country-folk single "Forever Young," but the cheerfulness seems to contradict Dr. Dog guitarist/vocalist Scott McMicken's strained lyric: "It's the right time for the wrong company."

Dylan's newest album, Women and Country, explores fuller arrangements that better complement his simple but significant lyrics.

Slash shoots a little too wide for its own good, but the album showcases him as the guitar hero we've always known and as the songwriter we probably haven't appreciated enough.

On their second release No Mas, cousins George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk stake their claim in the world of electronica with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach, yielding infectious but often mind-boggling results.

Full of blues and roots tracks, the new 13-song set lives up to its title.

Although the style vs. substance debate has been raging for more than 50 years along Nashville's Music Row, there's no mystery about which side Alan Jackson falls on.

Drawing from a skillful fusion of R&B/hip-hop/pop, Usher addresses the trappings of fame on the uptempo "Monstar," shifts into sexy overdrive on "Lil Freak" (featuring Nicki Minaj) and "Pro Lover," pumps up the beat on the infectious club anthem "OMG" (featuring Will.i.am) and turns introspective on the ballad "Foolin' Around."

Her fifth studio release, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, finds the singer delivering no-holds-barred lyrics about lovemaking, love longing and, at times, love lost.

[The album was] rush-released by Def Jam on a low budget. It's a fact that's somewhat hard to hide behind the set's lean production and uneven narrative. But there's cohesion among most of the 13 tracks.

As on Volume One, Ward's performance and production excel, and his song arrangements move effortlessly between heart-rending and cheery.While Ward's musicianship remains the magic behind She & Him, Deschanel's lyrical growth on Volume Two proves she can hold her own alongside a well-respected partner.

Every song comes and goes in less than three-and-a-half minutes (and most in a lot less) as the band makes up in ramshackle charm what it lacks in glossy production.

Lovely moments abound, but the overall effect is less intoxicating.

The 16-year-old's follow-up to last November's "My World" shrewdly elevates him from a fleeting teen phenom into an evolving pop artist.

Splicing sounds and rhythms that sometimes complement and often compete, "Oversteps" creates an evolving harmony built on its own continuous assembly and breakdown.

The 82-year-old singer/pianist's mordant wit retains its vintage charm. In fact, Allison probably could have sung any of these new tunes about aging just as credibly 50 years ago.

While the album is fluid lyrically and musically, it's missing one thing: Monica's spunk and sass.

Aside from arrangement updates and catchy synth touches, the Bird & the Bee play it straight as George fetchingly channels Hall's vocal groove.

A collection of unconnected-though certainly related-songs that traverse all sorts of Southern terrain and situations. The group's songwriting trio (mainly Patterson Hood) offers the usual array of potent guitar riffs, stomping hard rock and vivid lyricism.

The 11-song set draws from some of the Big Apple's more established rock outfits, but still keeps the DIY feel of the Whigs' previous albums.

Tempering heavier blues-alternative influences with a softer folk-rock feel, Broken Side of Time leaves an unmistakable mark.

More than happy to engage the pop mainstream (once heard, the irresistible, day-glo chorus of "Superfast Jellyfish" is never forgotten), yet experimental enough to satisfy the hipsters, these cartoon characters just made the first 3-D album of the new decade.

The oddball trio's new set is edgy and experimental, containing lurid imagery and bold use of dissonance.

The singer matches Danger Mouse's inventive sonics with his usual complement of twisty-turny melodies and dense wordplay, though compared with the Shins' relatively high-octane 2007 release, "Wincing the Night Away," such jangly space-folk tunes as "Vaporize" and "Sailing to Nowhere" can seem a little snoozy.

Any listener who has experienced the emotions associated with a romantic split should appreciate the album.

The Monitor probably could've borrowed more firepower from the ironclad battleship for which it's named, but the album nevertheless meshes old-fashioned themes with a modern twist.

The duo strays into territories of pop predictability with lines like "The music stops/And the music drops," but jj's sophomore effort is nonetheless charming and imaginative.

The result is a collection rich in fan favorites, but lacking in momentum.

Although it may not be a punk album through and through, songs like "The Stick" and "Where Was My Brain?" embody the genre's spirit with pounding drums, frenzied guitars and rushed deliveries (the former cut clocks in at less than two minutes), while "Mourning in America" mixes the genre's chaotic arrangements and political bite with Leo's usual power-pop flare.

Yet with its rowdy gang vocals and efficient club beats, Battle of the Sexes is ultimately more concerned with partying than with politics.

The Besnard Lakes amp up the energy with a more guitar-driven approach on third album The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night. But this added vigor doesn't distract from the rock band's more familiar fare of gentle vocal deliveries and downplayed drums.

Other guests include Linda Ronstadt ("A la Orilla de un Palmar"), Van Dyke Parks and Los Tigres del Norte (who both appear on "Canción Mixteca"). The result is as thrilling as it is enlightening.

Naledge's rhymes are a complex web of pop culture references and braggadocio. Double-O's pop-soul production serves as a bright, sugary backdrop for Naledge's brag-rap.

The artist's familiar smoky vocals and the consistently rich production draw the listener in on his latest release, "Get Off on the Pain."

For an album with crowded electro-pop instrumentation, the music isn't overbearing, and Little Boots' cheeky lyrics never lose any of their dry attitude.

While many artists sound anything but comfortable breaking these kinds of musical barriers, Cullum proves once again that he sounds most like himself when the walls come tumbling down.

It may take listeners a while to wrap their heads (and ears) around Scratch My Back, but it will undoubtedly polarize an audience that has long awaited something new from Gabriel.

The quietly brilliant set translates the dance-rock explosion through the lenses of two guys who have lived the dance scene from the beginning.

The Auto-Tuned vocals and cluttered background instrumentation on the title track represents a low point of the album. Luckily, the second half of "Permalight" moves away from electronics and finds Rogue Wave returning to its guitar-based, head-nodding roots.

Taking a page from the George Strait playbook, country music newcomer Easton Corbin displays excellent song sense while offering an easygoing vocal style on his finely crafted self-titled debut album.

Blake Shelton's new six-song album, Hillbilly Bone, may be a marketing and sales experiment by Warner Bros. Records, but fans of the Oklahoman artist won't be disappointed.

With its serene landscapes and beautiful imagery, listening to The Golden Archipelago makes waiting for the tropical temperatures of summer all the more difficult.

Merriweather delivers just fine in his own right, with a soulful voice of the Otis Redding/Al Green/Marvin Gaye variety and lushly arranged songs that channel an array of influences from early Elton John ("For Your Money") to vintage Holland-Dozier-Holland ("Impossible").

In addition to Rubin's typically austere moods, the set features an all-star core of musicians (including members of the Avett Brothers) and Cash's tasteful renditions of the title track, Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times," Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day," Tom Paxton's "Where I'm Bound" and Bob Nolan's "Cool Water."

Fans will be pleased to find Alkaline Trio remembering what it's like to be itself.

Newsom's wispy singing style may still be too inaccessible for some, but hardcore fans will savor the growing vocal confidence during the two-hour-plus running time. In an era of quick musical fixes, Have One on Me is a spacious artistic statement too original to pass up.

The vibe on the new album may be rootsier and more acoustic than Walker's usual fare, but it still emphasizes his knack for memorable wordplay and melodic know-how, which have earned him writing and producing gigs.

Ali and Toumani is spontaneous and deeply spiritual, depicting two outstanding musicians who are governed by nothing but their love for their nation.

Hynes continues to explore the scope of his musicianship, producing a collection songs that refuse to stand still.

Although Raekwon, Bun B and Birdman all turn in solid guest spots, Freeway remains in control and drops his most memorable lines since his 2003 debut, "Philadelphia Freeway."

Between the folds of intricate sound on Odd Blood float Yeasayer members Anand Wilder's and Chris Keating's expressive vocal harmonies, giving this seemingly disparate, indefinable music a clear identity.

Richly uplifting arrangements, dynamic percussion and an attention to vocals (some shared) that's intimately communal mostly make up for some excessive sentimentality and steel drums. But what's missing on the album is an obvious classic.

Reflective but never bitter, I'm New Here contains the musings of a poet wizened by hard luck.

It still warms the blood to hear those trip-hop synths roll on the slow-burning "Flat of the Blade" (with some acid loops thrown in for good measure), but Massive Attack's arsenal has expanded and the resulting onslaught is nothing short of brilliant.

A mixed bag, but an appealingly bold one.

The release is Sade's first new material in 10 years, but the act hasn't lost a beat.

Although Chandra and Leigh Watson don't employ their entire vocal range on the bluesy "Devil in You," they make up for it with lyrical maturity.

"Crows" opts for a mostly stripped-down acoustic sound that provides the perfect setting for Moorer's marvelous, R&B-inflected voice.

In New Orleans vernacular, Ya-Ka-May is a stew comprising various meats, green onions, noodles and a hard-boiled egg. This album may well be the musical counterpart of the dish for which it's named.

Not every track on Another Round may be a winner, but Jaheim remains a welcome oasis in a desert of Auto-Tuned voices-and a beacon for the next generation of soul.

"The Courage of Others" doesn't offer anything as immediately captivating as "Van Occupanther" gems like "Roscoe" and "Young Bride," but the new songs slowly take shape and are unafraid to choose interesting detours.

The new ambition found on "A Chorus of Storytellers" has led the Album Leaf to its best execution yet.

While "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" certainly captures the Saturday afternoon matinee spirit of his 1998 solo debut, it's also a different kind of creature.

A dense yet buoyant mixture of hip-hop beats, reggae grooves, African-pop riffs and future-soul vocals, "Concrete Jungle" (which culls tracks from Nneka's previous European releases) does, in fact, echo "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

Romance Is Boring would be better-served with more of the diversity that's found on these tracks. But those without dates on Valentine's Day should find some cheer in this danceable collection

Leaps and bounds over the act's earlier material, "Teen Dream" allows Legrand and Scally to truly come into their own while leaving the listener aching for more.

Ultimately, the electronic-free approach on the closer of the trilogy results in the Magnetic Fields' most organic effort to date--and it doesn't stray too far from Merritt's pop-leaning background, making it the most successful of its synth-free siblings.

In grappling with the sudden death of her husband in 2008, the U.K. singer/songwriter has crafted a remarkable set that includes influences from rock and jazz, rich instrumentation and lyrics that linger well beyond the first listen.

The new set-Lady A's follow-up to its self-titled debut in 2008-showcases the group's ability to combine its own contemporary country sound and folk-rock flair with a familiar formula, making it a refreshing addition to the ever-expanding country genre.

The most obvious distinction from past releases is the richly textured soundscape of unusual tones that Metheny harmonizes with on with his guitar.