What the disc might lack in substance, it makes up for in some of the best sleazy, synthy, testosterone-fueled electronica since the Prodigy's 'Smack My Bitch Up.'

For The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth, the material is appropriately lofty to represent the former element but surprisingly sparse for the latter.

The latest batch of tunes definitely includes some keepers.

By tossing some horns and a variety of dark basslines into the mix, the U.K. quintet creates intense, unique songs that are more than a sum of their influences.

The album as a whole finds a strange homogeny, and Tapes 'N Tapes keep exploring hip, leaving everyone guessing as to whether they meant to make such a confusing outfit or the pieces were just on sale.

A truly welcome return.

Chock-full of glockenspiel, keyboards, hand claps and boy-girl harmonies, Youngster is playful and fun.

This is the definitive Moby album.

Clever but tasteful arrangements and an impeccable shine make songs like 'Same Old Thing' seem anything but.

Accelerate may not stun on impact like some R.E.M. records, but it's still habit-forming.

The album is front-loaded with these relatively energetic tracks. Much of the rest ('End of the Land,' 'Song of Home') is resigned, reflective and spiritually attuned, but not always keenly focused.

Throughout, Kozelek connects memory to emotion with masterful strokes.

More than 40 years into their career, the Stones sound raw and dangerously alive.

Funplex works best when the voices blend into the ass-moving momentum.

15 tracks of welcomed live drum sounds, symphonies and stacked harmonies.

The band stretches out in some new directions on the trance-y 'Washington Square' and incorporates psychedelic overtones into 'Insignificant' and 'Le Ballet d'Or.' 'You Can't Count on Me' sounds like the flip side of a Bruce Springsteen love song, and such tracks as '1492,' 'Cowboys' and 'Come Around' rock with sweeping dynamic energy.

Most of the dozen songs on Midnight Boom are driven more by looped beats. As a result, the melodies on such tracks as "Getting Down," "Cheap and Cheerful" and the hand-clapping "Sour Cherry" are framed with spare urgency, while "U.R.A. Fever" and "Alphabet Pony" boast an urban, nearly hip-hop ambience.

Bejar may consistently tinker with his sound, but the output has been reliably solid, and Dreams is no exception.

Denver-based Devotchka delivers another batch of aching, spacious and histrionic tunes on A Mad and Faithful Telling.

His hooks can be rock-solid ('Ack Like You Know') and his interest in gleaming synthesizerism (opener 'American Superstar' comes into 'Tubular Bells' territory, really) helps set him off from the legions of rappers clawing over each other to break out of the South.

It seems that the more comfortable the principals get with Gnarls Barkley, the more haunted Gnarls Barkley gets. And it gets stronger, too.

Luckily, [the a bland name and album title are] the most awkward things about this surprisingly rewarding collection of dusky, mesquite-flavored torch songs.

On the Missy Elliott-assisted 'Bad Girl,' the group croons about its seductive ways over heavy drums, while the bass-laden 'Sucka for Love' finds it confessing to being "addicted to kissing and hugging/touching and rubbing."

Lanois' sixth studio album is an eclectic mix of richly textured rock songs, mellow vibes and hypnotic instrumentals, interspersed with snippets from philosophical conversations with mentor Brian Eno.

While King's songs often hew closer to contemporary classical than pop, the patient listener will discern new colors in these lovely painted-desert landscapes with each listen.

Snoop Dogg's ninth album is perhaps his most progressive one to date.

His fifth album puts the Dutchman in the company of the Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx and Paul Oakenfold: those rare dance producers who have the artistic fortitude to create a fully realized, addictive long-player.

The label's tendency toward bottom-heavy, fog-thick beats sounds awful nice under Del's syrupy brainiac flow, which goes back to his battle-rap basics here.