The band sounds filthy and scorching.

Has more to do with the Shangri Las' "Leader of the Pack", '60s sock hop and the Jesus Mary Chain than it does with Television, downtown Manhattan and pre-treated denim.

Fans of dream pop and chamber pop alike will find a lot to enjoy on this one.

It's an outstanding piece of work -- literate, catchy, and emotional.

Their best album since 1996's brilliant Under the Bushes, Under the Stars.

The band shows an incredible level of bravado on their album of fun summer hymns, but has a hard time breaking through the barrier the lackluster vocals create.

While all of the sounds that made their debut so compelling are in place here, Broadcast has also branched out, employing a looser approach to strong structure.

It has an appealing gentle earnestness that most pop music lost somewhere in the past few decades.

It is every bit the equal of recent pop classics like the Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin, Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, or The Shins' Oh, Inverted World.

The group's cohesion is the cornerstone of the album; no one instrument stands out, while each contributes equally to the whole. And it's the trio's loose arrangements and subtle interplay that leave center stage to the thoughtful and provocative lyrics.

De-Loused in the Comatorium is a musical gem that captures the soul of Mars Volta in a way that soundly delivers on the hype.

More a sketchbook than a fully-formed statement of purpose, Jay Farrar's second solo release is nonetheless an excellent addition to his oeuvre.

Happy Songs is epic and subtle, technically savvy and emotionally charged and visceral all at once -- in short, it's a summary of everything that is great about Mogwai's music.

Twice is a summery, psychedelic treat.

A lucid and diverse record.

Soft Spot is a winningly cohesive album -- both thematically and musically -- and shows Barzelay's songwriting talent growing exponentially.

For those who prefer less academic wave crushing and more pop elements in their electronic music, Player, Player pleasantly delivers the goods.

At times, Rice definitely over-emotes, leaving behind any sense of subtlety in his delivery. But at his best, on songs like "Volcano" and "The Blower's Daughter", he hits upon a perfect blend of warmth and expansiveness.

L'Avventura is a pleasant side-trip, a chance for Luna fans to see Dean let his hair down for 40 minutes.

So New York. So everything. So new. But yet, so much like the hippies saying, "Man, if we could only get Nixon to smoke pot, then we'd have world peace, man."

Albini captures a recording full of heart, a sound quiet and full, rough and clear.

The main funk base of E's sound remains consistent but is augmented with harder rock and blues elements, showing he is able to hold onto his signature sound while simultaneously twisting a piece of rose-colored glass into it.

You really don't know what you're dealing with until you sit down and take in the freewheeling beauty of one of the year's best.

A solid collection of the most talked-about bands in the New York underground.

More often than not it's stylish, adventurous and damn fun.

People tend to like Joan of Arc when they play songs, but get all worked up and annoyed when the band stretches out with the experimental stuff. This record is a bunch of the stuff that would have pissed off that latter group of people had the music been bunched in with So Much Staying Alive...

The 10 tracks are hands down the most irresistible pop music you'll hear this year.

Harcourt would do himself well by spending a bit more time on his lyrics; a lot of the time it sounds as though he's just filling in the space between choruses.