A hauntingly beautiful album with tender, melodic pop arrangements that really make a lasting impression.

Several songs near the end go on too long, content to just keep repeating riffs over and over. Still, when Autumn is on point, it offers some of Pinback's best tunes yet.

A curious amalgamation of styles that is ultimately quirky and compelling.

A fantastically colorful and original effort. [5 May 2007]

Fans of Carlton's indelible white-chick anthem "A Thousand Miles," on the other hand, have plenty to be excited about, since Heroes presents another batch of appealingly wistful reflections on life and love.

Shakira, of course, is unmistakable. But the coup is that each track is absolutely distinctive, even on several songs with no clear-cut choruses or hooks.

To say there isn't one bad track on this album would be a drastic understatement.

This dynamic duo comes off as vital as it has in a decade on the highly anticipated sequel to the pair's 1999 collaborative debut, "Blackout!"

With the mesmerizing Alison Goldfrapp leading the way, a glam-rock fierceness reigns supreme throughout this stunning collection.

The sound is bigger, the playing better, the lyrics sharper and the spirituality more compelling than anything the act has done in many years.

The band's reverence for its source material--all horns, Stax/Volt soul and he-done-me-wrong lyrics--occasionally gets so close that it's more clone than homage. But there's no denying the 51-year-old Jones' brutal, Aretha-ish voice

It still has the signature guitar-drums-violin approach, but there are subtle variations that make this a different record.

It's almost as if they've been raised on a steady diet of "Laugh-In" reruns, sugary disco beats, James Bond films, and the Ray Conniff Singers.

His raspy, hushed voice is in fine form as ever.

Hitting a second stride with "Murray Street" in 2002, the band maintains its leadership position among melodic noise-makers with The Eternal, which is so chock-full of hummable pop hooks you'd think a hit doctor lent a hand.

Man Man exhibits a varied flair for macabre theatrics that includes a veritable world's fair of chaos and creation.

Those looking for peak-hour club music are advised to look elsewhere, but those in search of quirky aural landscapes to play alongside their Groove Armada and Bent discs need to investigate lemonjelly.ky. [Critics Choice]

A quietly ambitious effort that nudges the Shins' trademark indie pop into unexpected new directions.

After 2005 concept album "The Forgotten Arm" was poorly received, Aimee Mann is back to writing stand-alone pop songs, and lo and behold, they comprise her most compelling album to date.

Rather than debut with her new label by methodically working the groove that got her here, she has cut a dozen tunes that suggest she's ready to crunch a few genres.

Though a few tracks like 'That's How People Grow Up' fall back on overused Morrissey formulas, others like the Latin-tinged 'When Last I Saw Carol' add welcome variety.

The trio has fine-tuned its sound, making it more complex and compelling. [14 Jan 2006]

An impressively creative hip-hop album that will hopefully inspire West's peers to try new sonic avenues.

A warm sonic cocoon with synthesizer veins, it possesses the rare quality of making the listener feel like an active ingredient of the music.

"Electric Blue Watermelon" consistently demonstrates that they have arrived at a place where their special feel for hill country blues and their Southern rock sensibilities are in sync. [10 Sep 2005]

What is exploding, writhing and fermenting behind Avey Tare's erratic voice is what's most interesting about this poppy, though experimental, set.

It's this mix of the loud and the trippy that Black Mountain specializes in, and In the Future sees the band striving for epic proportions.

It is exactly what the band needs to boost itself to the next level of pop-punk prowess.