It's a fun record, it's a frustrating record.

Don’t mistake its pleasant surfaces for laidback listening. There’s much more to it than initially meets the ear.

A very good album.

It is with this album, This Way that Jewel finally comes into her own.

With an uplifting mellow party vibe, ear-catching rhymes and a Zen-like minimalist style that takes decades of music and points them toward the future, Trinity stands tall on its own.

Always something of an underdog themselves, throughout their career the Goo Goo Dolls have quietly championed society's own underdogs. With Something for the Rest of Us, they craft a near-perfect, emotional album that gives a voice and a window into the individual struggles of the large number of "the rest of us" out there.

All in all, Milian’s got a good thing going, despite a few lyrical hiccups, a couple of lackluster hooks, and some obvious influences.

Overall, this is shaping up to be one of the most amazing albums of the year and will definitely not disappoint any hardcore Cranberries fans and may help them pick up some new converts along the way.

This is more than some disparate litany of distant apocalyptic perils, however. There’s a deeper and more germane thread running through the album.

It goes a long way in showing how the band continues to be relevant, even vital, in a scene that chews up and spits out bands with ferocious speed.

Like most great albums, ...It Falls Apart reminds the listener of its various influences, but without theft or shallow imitation.

So yeah: good debut, if a bit short.

Anna’s greatest strength is the same thing that makes or breaks most examples of popular music: solid, consistent songwriting.

All in all, this may be a band somewhat out of step with their country, but European Soul is all the richer for it, and a refreshing change to the norm.

As surefooted a return to form as could be.

The sort of vocal layering Freddy Mercury would be proud of, chord progressions that convey triumph as often as they do disenchantment, and the use of marimbas and orchestras (and is that a gong in “Pomp and Circumstance”?) all indicate a willingness to go beyond the formula even as they spend most of their time sticking to it like glue.

With this album, they show it’s okay to not take things like popular music and culture so damn seriously and just have fun with it or at it.

JJ Grey and Mofro provide a connection to the past and a time when talent and tenacity moved the music forward. Hallelujah for Ol’ Glory. It’s a prime example of what genuine Americana ought to emulate.

There’s no in between for this one; it will go down as one of those love it or hate it records.

The whole thing is totally nuts, and it really is a lot to take in. But then again, Laborintus II engages our brains as well as our ears, forcing us into asking some pretty big questions on a political front as well as on an aesthetic front.

The heightened sense of immediacy is hard to keep up, but Bastille does it remarkably well, resulting in a debut that’s as infectious as it is dramatically powerful.

This is a fun album, and one crafted with such impressive care and attention that even a few hardcore rockist musos might not be able to keep from being carried away.

Welcome Home is a beautiful record, full of imagery and experiences, and a worthy return to the style that made Zac Brown Band’s debut as successful as it was. It’s also a strong step forward to continuing the band’s success and ability to make personal connections to listeners.

Forward isn’t always better. But for Foster the People, on Supermodel, it was the right direction.

It's only a small sampling of new music and a sliver of what their live show delivers, however, Papa Roach offers up an admirable effort and a nice twist on the standard live album concept.

Thankfully You and I is no barrel-scraping shakedown. It deserves to be heard. There may be no staggering surprises but it offers a chance to see a rare bird learning to fly. A memory worth holding on to.

While most of the album is a fine return to form, there are a few sour spots that are worthy of an eye-roll or two.

It's a solidly above-average rap record, featuring a generous handful of very likeable songs and only two unqualified duds.

Stereophonics, like their countrymen Manic Street Preachers, are equally adept at making the slow, infectious ballad just as pleasing and appealing as they are with harder rock tracks.

Though the individual songs are quite different stylistically, it's an incredibly cohesive album, with the tracks flowing together and melding effortlessly into a beautiful expression of Jeff Beck's exploratory impulse.

The trio's skill as musicians has clearly evolved since their debut back in '98.

Singer Theo Hutchcraft's voice is dramatic but elegant and carries each melody with a sense of purpose. His delivery is calm and composed, but he lets the words he has written speak for themselves; there's no ambiguity in these words.

Surprisingly good genre-crossover experiment.

While Slow Motion Daydream isn't quite as fresh as Everclear sounded on their 1994 debut Sparkle and Fade, a close listen reveals an entirely new layer of angst and existential dread that Alexakis and company have added to their repertoire.

As a sampler, the EP does its job wonderfully--introducing Poor Moon and whetting the public's appetite for a full-length album.

This is by no stretch a perfect album, but is one of the most imaginative and far-reaching ones you're likely to hear from an ostensibly mainstream pop artist this year.

The industry pros serve to sweeten, not change, Caillat’s sound, which results in a richly textured album, not just a collection of radio-baiting singles, that retains the performer’s personality.

Sonically cohesive, Uncanny Valley is the sound of a band rediscovering the inspiration that had seemingly been diluted on their sophomore effort.

Momus's brittle voice and roguish humor is an acquired taste, but for the smarty-pants listeners who gobble up high-concept art pieces, Folktronic is a "fake folk" masterpiece.

That passionate energy is what makes each song sound so fresh and exciting, even though it's intentionally not new. Difford and Tilbrook are writing for the next Squeeze album, but for now fans can play Spot the Difference.

While admittedly failing to match up to their self-titled debut, it makes a convincing case for not writing them off just yet.

The end result on Human is structurally and technically impressive, though at times aesthetically more curious than intriguing.

Rules moves smoothly from one track to the next. Sometimes it does all feel a little too formulaic, a little too rational.

A fine trip down memory lane that celebrates the complexities of growing up.

This Jekyll and Hyde hop from funky to somber on Songs in the Key of Animals caters to a wide a range of audiences and there’s not one throw away track to show for it. Suturing hooks and crafting theme songs has clearly given him a creative perspective unheard in quite awhile.

Black Mold would probably sound like a more typical, laptop-based electronic project if it weren’t for the strong melodies. These melodies allow VanGaalen to get out of his head at least a little bit and create tracks that sound like songs instead of musical experiments.

OK, but is it as good as Up The Bracket? Naw, but it's better than last year's The Libertines.

As pop rap albums go, O.N.I.F.C. is beyond solid, full of immaculate production and airtight if simplistic rhymes about money, girls and weed.

Enslaved will be even better than Soulfly fans will expect, a delight for any listener that enjoys Max Cavalera's composition style.

As far as excessive, inessential, borderline-cash-ins go, this one's a keeper.

Paths is probably the group’s most sonically accomplished disc yet.

Time of the Assassins is an interesting insight into the creative mind of another member of one of the decade’s most important bands. It’s in no way a substitute for a fourth Strokes record, although if songwriting was to become more of a democracy in the Strokes, maybe their next album could see them once again upping the bar.

en studio LPs in, Painting just proves that Ocean Colour Scene is a band you can depend on to make some glorious and thoughtful music that only panders to its members’ joy of classic pop. Enjoy this record. It’s great.

The test of Mika’s longevity will be how he chooses to progress beyond the colorful kaleidoscope of his debut album.

Heathen Chemistry gets back to what Oasis do well.

Unfortunately, Powter doesn’t always take advantage of his talent, and half the album ends up being solidly catchy, but ultimately unremarkable and predictable piano songs.

Where "Whisper" came off like an ego-driven side project, I-Empire paints the Angels as a fully-fledged band.

This stuff might not add up to a great album, but Wild Ones could at least win second prize in a beauty contest.

[A] beautiful and calming record.

Sure some songs (“Heaving Acid”/“Parasitic Eruption”) are indistinguishable, but for the most part this record sweats malice in a straightforward, pulverizing kind of way.

Whatever the future holds for Mötley Crüe proper, Saints of Los Angeles is the band’s first album together since 1997’s "Generation Swine," and a far superior effort at that.

In the end, what makes this fabulous disaster of an album work is the passion of Reed's performance.

Boomkatalog.one is that rarest of recordings that makes pop fans' hearts beat a little faster: a deft combination of musical styles, both current and past, that, when integrated with powerful hooks and strong execution, adds up to an irresistible album.

Junk of the Heart is everything the Kooks have been and continue to assert that they are, which makes for a rewarding listen.

There are no particularly new revelations. Fact is, these were damn good songs back in the 60s, and they're damn good songs now. Collins fares most gloriously on upbeat tracks like "Loving You is Sweeter than Ever" and the undeniable groove in "Talkin' About My Baby," where Collins demonstrates his smooth falsetto.

If you don't like t.A.T.u, you don't like pop music.

An astounding, brave release.

Let your guard down and jam some Bizkit.

Palookaville is every bit as rewarding an experience when taken as a cohesive unit as the best songs are when taken individually.

The mix is such that the saccharine ("You Are My Life" and "Heaven Can Wait") is outweighed by the brilliant ("Whatever Happens" and "The Lost Children"), creating a record that is quite relevant while at the same time being experimental and fresh.

Although the four infamous tracks might be regarded as novelties in the Liz Phair repertoire, the entire album plays as a fascinating experimental work of an artist trying to dodge your negative abuses by coming at it from unexpected angles.

Somewhere along the way, Smith lost his musical appeal, be it via constant, blatant commercialism or simply a decline in skills. Now, it seems, he's found the qualities that made him such a joy in the first place; the only question remaining is whether anyone is still listening.

The result comes off as a celebrity version of American Idol, in which the prize is not a record contract, but to have your track released as a single.

Although his ghost pleasantly haunts the album in some ways (The Cosmos Rocks is actually dedicated to him), Paul Rodgers breathes new life into Queen, while still keeping the band’s tremendous legacy intact as they soldier forth with new material into the 21st century.

This album is smart and fun, if you can but allow yourself to revel in its uber-production.

These are lovely songs, beautifully sung, about horrible things, brutally done.

Vaccine breaks into a new territory that is truly Younger Brother's own. A thoroughly exhilarating ride.

Some of the more purely country tracks are less memorable than the others, but overall this is a strong record, and one which should raise Nevins's profile.

It's a good reminder of the compelling work he was doing outside of that other act he got involved with, and is certainly worth a revisit.

Singer Devin Peralta specializes in such [clever and pithy] lines, delivered with a raspy eartnestness reminiscent of Joe Strummer.

Its got a bit of indie-pop charm that makes it worth picking up--in a purely digital form unless you import it.

Disrupted ADS makes the smart move of keeping the listener on their toes through the music and the movement rather than the number of names it can fit on an insert or blogger jpeg.