Folds has mastered his material to the point that he no longer relies on a smartass punch line to deliver the goods.

No matter what vehicle Hersh utilizes as an outlet, it’s obvious her creative wave has yet to crest.

On balance, Fishscale earns its street-cred stripes and adds another worthy release to the Great Wu-Tang Best Solo Effort debate.

Rubber Factory finds inspiration in decay, and signals a hopeful future for the Black Keys.

Rubies is one of the most enjoyable listens from Bejar’s solo catalog and comfortably stands with 2002’s This Night as his best effort.

Keep on Your Mean Side is a solid debut from a duo with enough moxie to shamelessly retread their myriad influences without coming across as so annoyingly derivative as to negate its brash, anything goes energy.

A blithe, energetic and wholly likable album.

The biggest upside to the release, however, is that now the intrepid Illinois enthusiast can cobble together one super playlist.

Obviously, the peerless craft and genuflecting reverence are beyond reproach; those desiring a more progressive form are out of luck.

A downbeat, surprisingly ruminative affair, less concerned with dance-floor breakouts than the inevitable post-party comedown.

More than anything else, This is Not a Test! is a fun listen: Missy obviously enjoys poking fun at herself, and doesn't shy away from promoting a sexually empowered female persona.

Chávez Ravine suffers from an uneven flow due to the varying quality of the material.

There aren’t as many memorable cuts as on Adams' stellar solo debut, Heartbreaker, but Jacksonville City Nights reveals an older, more seasoned performer.

In addition to simply being a package for the band's more obscure tracks, the album nicely spans its shift from folksy, melancholy introspectiveness to light summer-pop.

The Search is protest music for the cryptology set.

On the whole, Before The Dawn Heals Us is a more unified, singular vision than Dead Cities.

Ejstes is a remarkable talent, and it will be worth listening to hear if he leaves his ardently retrograde Dungen identity behind and pushes toward more forward-leaning concepts.

Hill feels more like a retrospective than a steady gallop toward the next stage in Smith's artistic advancement.

Clearly, what we’re dealing with here isn’t a new Modest Mouse, but one with a few new, calculated tricks.

A restless, questing work.

It's a sonically interesting, lyrically diverse collection.

[Oberst] displays a mastery of material, a reigning in of indulgences that promises stronger work to come.

Yes, there's a fair amount of filler here... But District packs a number of bouncy, accessible car-radio stocking-stuffers.

Damaged is quintessential Wagner: a ponderous, carved-wood gut-punch of a record that finds hope in the mundane details of everyday life, even as the big worldly picture comes crashing down with alarming force.

Fans of Simple Things, Zero 7's debut effort, won't hear anything new or different, but considering that Falls makes for lovely background music, it should satisfy those fans just fine.

A Healthy Distrust reinforces Sage Francis’ standing as one of the most verbally gifted rappers currently in the game, but it lacks the cohesive flow of Personal Journals and complains about a host of worldly ills without offering much in the way of a positive solution.

Proponents of Mars Volta’s Frances the Mute will claim that anyone who doesn’t like the album simply can’t handle the lyrical depth and amazingly multi-layered musical complexity; critics who pan the release will claim it’s overlong, indulgent, and -- did we mention indulgent? The truth, as usual, falls somewhere in between.

Imagining an all-acoustic version of Martha Wainwright hints at the true potential lurking beneath the strings and high-calorie programmatic flourishes that, while undeniably pretty, detract unnecessarily from the eponymous focal point.