Although not an album of the year candidate or (unfortunately) likely an even noteworthy nod, Collett nonetheless delivers a fine collection of songs.

The album can be charming and downright catchy at times and, depending on your present mood, that may be just good enough.

What is key to this album's effectiveness is how Vampire Weekend's rhythmic momentum enervates the filler, turning another band's less flamboyant 'Campus' into a cymbal-crash-on-every-hit mini-epic, or the nearly irritating 'Blake's Got a New Face' into drunken singalong.

Those listeners who recognized Black Mountain as one in a long line of inward looking, backward thinking bands will find that In The Future ups the ante. That's not automatically a great thing, and it means that Black Mountain will yet again be greeted with abundant I know what you're doing and I don't like it reactions.

Brighter Than Creation's Dark is a tour de force that easily earns its praise and rings out as classically as any classic rock album.

Few bands have managed to blend so many divergent sounds and styles together to make such an interesting, great-sounding, and cohesive [key word] record as Evangelicals have with The Evening Descends.

The pair accomplished what they set out to do, but by no means are they causing any whiplash with the results.

Distortion is really a triumph of the evening-out.

The music is what makes Lupe's pretensions palatable.

8 Diagrams is intricate, inoffensive, interesting.

Rehab has every right to coast on the momentum of Ghost's hot streak--exploit it, if you will--for an overload of same.

And desperate single aside, it all works pretty damn well.

They have blended the sensitivity of classical and the sensibility of rock into something far greater than post-rock.

For the most part Dave Gahan has a lot of catching up to do after his lackluster solo debut, and Hourglass, while an improvement, will likely suffer from the continued fallout of "Paper Monsters."

In Defense of the Genre does defeat the emo stigma and the double CD stigma easily, and does improve slightly on the pretty-good "…Is a Real Boy." But these are minor inventions; any "genius" is pretty much limited to the bites and nuggets reported here.

Chase This Light's would-be killer singles make for enjoyable listening, but taken as a whole it feels uninspired for a band known for its ambition.

Kenna has the indie roots to bridge the gap between pop and everything left of center. This effort has already created some stir between the two. My only concern is that the album's lack of balance may make for a one hitter quitter.

Excluding the established Radiohead franchise from consideration of In Rainbows, it is still one of the most compelling recent releases, and should be considered for 2007's Album of the Year in any context.

One either engages with the gears of this get-up, or not. If you do, the delights abound from start to finish, and it really makes no difference whether each song intends to evoke a different French city, as they do on The Flying Club Cup.

The natural maturation of Ben Bridwell's vocals and songwriting, bolstered by an increase in creative control, has yeilded what is easily one of 2007's best albums in Cease to Begin.

Kortedala is a touch shy of a great album because Lekman's ornate tendencies towards full-on kitsch get the best of the still A-level songwriting.

Overall, Hera Ma Nono left a good impression with several notable points, however, there will be no drooling this time around.

Good Arrows tempers its communal, folky feel with tasteful and restrained use of samples and loops, resulting in an inviting environment that feels soothing and organic.

Whether blazing a tight new trail or feeling its way in the darkness, each tune on the album heads somewhere, collectively making as much of a stylistic progression as the recording of "Our Endless Numbered Days" made in fidelity and depth.

All things considered, Washington Square Serenade is a bit nonchalant by Earle's standards.

The tracks are both individually strong and do work as a whole, though not in the way the group necessarily intended.

The album's vibrancy and idiosyncratic traits certainly warrant another listen, especially for those willing to let a fanciful mind wander.

Perhaps more so than any other band out there today, the pair channel the spirit of the wandering troubadour in all of his dusty, down and out glory.