Tom Smith's stentorian baritone, irritating in its overenunciated approximations of gravitas, is better suited to some community-theater group than a rock band.

Singer-guitarist Ryan and Gary Jarman comport themselves ably through these dozen distortion-cranked, rhapsodically sung bits of power pop. [2007 Aug, p.110]

Curt Kirkwood has written a gorgeous album that channels his brother's world-weary relief. [Aug 2007, p.116]

Zeitgeist’s orgy of avalanche rhythms, cascading riffs and sky-licking guitar is as grandiose as ever (the solo on "Tarantula" sounds like a nuke hitting a Guitar Center), but the bombast is softened as Corgan reaches out for shame-sharing community.

In fleshing out the contours of a sound once slavishly indebted to early-'80s titans like JD and the Smiths, they've nuanced the moods Banks moons over. Awesome for him. Only so-so for us. [August 2007, p.114]

Despite Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga's adventurousness, it's highest points end up being the most conventional. [August 2007, p.112]

Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé employ everything from ominous Christian iconography to slick future sounds to prop up their aura of overarching coolness.

While yet another geography gimmick song ("The Mesopotamians") might try the patience of anyone older than 8, goofiness also inspires them. [August 2007, p.118]

He took three years to produce this follow-up, and the labor shows, for good and ill. [August 2007, p.117]

It's all top-shelf alt-country: road-hardened, literate and dark as ever. [August 2007, p.114]

The best song on Super Taranta! is all about one <i>bad</i> party: the disappointed, outright funny 'American Wedding. [Aug 2007, p.111]

Superproducer Butch Vig is around to help transform Gabel’s strident leftism and occasionally clumsy choruses (e.g., "Protest Songs! In response to military aggression!") into swing-state-ready stadium rock.

[A] tightly coiled second album. [Jul 2007, p.119]

Mostly, though, this psychodrama feels both overplayed and underwritten. [August 2007 p.110]

It's the sound of a group treading water. [Jul 2007, p.110]

Clarkson has never sounded this depressive or spiteful. [Jul 2007, p.112]

It's the sound of a band not stretching out so much as digging in: burrowing deeper into loamy soil they know well. [Jul 2007, p.109]

This follow-up just isn't as lovable. [Jul 2007, p.110]

Luckily, Bon Jovi's country-music move yields just... one irritant. [Jul 2007, p.113]

A downer. [Jul 2007, p.116]

[Hayley Williams'] Tennessee crew's second album isn't as charmingly precocious as the first. [Jul 2007, p.116]

The oompah-oompah music-hall bounce, jolly sing-along tunes and attitude of playful whimsy haven't changed. [Jul 2007, p.116]

When Cornell strains for significance, he squeezes the life out of his music. [Jun 2007, p.105]

Manson's music still evokes decay, but he sounds more fertile than ever. [Jul 2007, p.116]

Where once he growled his rhymes through gritted teeth or abortively gulped them down altogether, now the beats let him breathe. [Jul 2007, p.113]

She's chosen a bunch of fiery roles that even she can't dull up. [Jul 2007, p.114]

Kelly's true genius is the metaphor-laden sex jam, and Double Up has some great ones. [Jul 2007, p.115]

The outfit dispels any virtuoso vibe with their joyous absurdism. [Jun 2007, p.104]