An album that does his low-key legacy well, mixing classic rock-influenced guitar solos and quaint folk sounds with psychedelic effects and high-pitched melodies that put Rush's Geddy Lee to shame.

Essential? Not really. Fun as hell? Definitely.

In the end, even LL himself seems a little lost in his efforts to find Todd Smith.

A self-titled debut album steeped in beautiful but bland lovelorn ballads that tip a wool cap to vintage Elton John.

Tak[es] on the state of global affairs in a way that is both surprisingly direct yet somehow reassuringly weird.

These tunes find him not only reconnecting with his sense of melodic urgency but with his loins, as well.

The only sign of life is that filthy mouth and cherry-vanilla hair.

The band's recovery on Vision Valley is nothing short of remarkable.

The group cuts through style in pursuit of substance, using Fever to Tell's slow-burning hit "Maps" as a jump-off point.

The disc is all over the map, moving from booming dance cuts to gangsta fare, but it satisfies with crunk-tacular gems like "What You Know."

The Back Room is a fine album that proves you can look backward while paving the way forward.

Subtítulo... is not without its charms, but it borders on easy listening at times.

The music is as fine as the pairing is strange.

[A] low-key album.

At the end of the day, it's really hard to screw up these songs with that voice--try as he might.

Ultimately he fails to make a lasting impression.

While tracks like "So Sick" and "Stay" hit a few sweet neosoul spots, this perfectly pleasant disc is lacking that roundhouse kick that floors you.

There are some impossibly fun tunes in the mix.... But will this album really change your life? No.

His lyrics remain slightly twisted, the music is uniformly dark and the singer's still a little freaky.

There's no denying the music is ridiculously fun, as it bounces from Strokes-style garage riffs and Nirvana-esque angst to epic Brit-pop melodies and pop twists.

Thanks to soulful orchestral swells, the songs have lush contours, which soften the singer's macho stance.

The Life Pursuit is all swaying tempos and vintage summer-sad melodies that sound like a postcard from home.

The music on Comfort of Strangers is at times so complex and distracting that it often overshadows Orton's winsome voice.

The disc is made up mostly by mid-tempo classic rockers and sweet nothing ballads. Disappointing? Well, yes.

Sure, the band is still peddling the same vaguely Americana M.O.R. sound that the Wallflowers and Counting Crows perfected in the mid-'90s, but for once it actually sounds interesting.

Though it's an interesting idea and is at times stirring, the results don't always work as well as one would hope.

It sounds all too familiar.

It's [Lewis'] powerful voice and compelling storytelling... that makes the songs of busted relationships and failed faith really sting.