Lyrically, Haunted progresses from timid to defiant, and ultimately to triumphant. Musically, Poe drifts confidently from trippy beats and spacy sounds to straight ahead rock and mellow, melancholic numbers, though not always in such a way as to strictly parallel the dramatic flow of the album's lyrics. All that means, though, is that this is a dynamic collection of songs and not merely the kind of high-minded rock opera that quickly goes from interesting novelty to pretentious joke. Ignore everything but what comes out of the speakers, and you've got a pop treasure that is as innovative and insightful as it is immediate and unforced.

The good thing with Mascis is that, even without straying in the least from his recognizable sound, he can maintain some degree of unpredictability in his songs.

The combination of bombastic musings and ethereal compositions is not simply a grab bag of past accomplishments, or a recycling of what works, but a record that yields a wholly different result: An easy sounding album, upbeat and surprisingly positive with not much forced.

Furtado occasionally comes off sounding like a modern day Billie Holiday with her crisp, yet subtle vibrato filtering through a slick production that holds the record together. But while one can easily detect a smattering of her worldly intentions, it's the big one eyed pop monster that seems to win out in almost every instance.

In The Mode is far from an innovative lyrical masterpiece. But then, it's not supposed to be. The rapping, singing, and general noisemaking of vocalists Dynamite MC, Onallee, and guests Method Man and Rahzel serve a far more critical purpose than merely adding hollow words. Unspectacular in their own right, the vocals here are what bind together the bursts of musical thought into a fluid whole.

The modern touches in particular - set in such sharp contrast to the rawness of the more human elements - make this an artistic statement worth hearing. If it can't quite match the cathartic experience of listening to some of the early masters, it still beats the increasingly slick face much blues music has taken on in recent times.

So at 68 he's still able to churn out songs that are immediately likable, if not instantly classic. For a man who's seemingly suffered from every ailment imaginable in the past few years, his signature baritone remains as strong and expressive as ever, too.

The very concept of Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water might be brilliant if it was a work of absurdist art. But this album is just absurd.

In spite of cosmetic differences, though, much of Vapor Transmission hints at a gaudy, synth-driven interpretation of Korn.

The addition of remixed or alternative versions of favorites like "78 Stone Shuffle," "We Haven't Turned Around" and the complete Gomez rendition of "Getting Better" (featured in the first wave of the Phillips ad campaign) makes this project something for the fanatic to salivate over. As for the casual listener, ASTH could possibly leave you wondering what all the fuss is about, but at the very least gives a slight glimpse into the future and of things to come.

Cherry Poppin' Daddies pull off decent songs even when they aren't the most convincing of exercises in genre - and better than decent when they let the horns loose. Soul Caddy just can't live up to the swingin' good times of its predecessor.

Nowhere on Breach are the Wallflowers offensively bad like Matchbox 20, but the songs would be better described as lullabies than rockers.... It's pleasant stuff to keep in the background, but for all that pleasantness nothing stands out as especially beautiful or even memorable.

Yes, they tried something different, but they kept it accessible. Just as with the last album's guitar-rock-on-tranquilizers, if Kid A's mood music changes the world it will be precisely because it is mainstream, not because it is revolutionary.

[I]f anything this album is less rock than the last one, while the droves of extra instruments are used more as decoration than as tools to create broad soundscapes.... Ultimately this album might be a step forward for Fastball, but they end up in essentially the same place.

If there is one drawback to this album, it is its somewhat overproduced nature. A little too clean and a little too short, Milk Cow Blues shows glimpses of what could have been, an all-star cast jamming to Willie classics and traditional blues like "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Ain't Nobody's Business."

This is purely a marketing scam gone too far.

The tight focus on craft and detail within the simple compositions and deep emotions Mojave 3 display on their third album, Excuses for Travelers, is something to take note.... Halstead's writing compares closely to Wilco, and Hank Williams on occasion...

Teddy Thompson is able to distinguish himself from the crowd on his self-titled debut. Not all the way through, mind you: he has his moments of tedium like any other. But when he has his mojo working, it's not to be missed.

This is decidedly not for those who require slick and flawless recordings. It's not particularly an album for those who demand sheer brilliance every step of the way, either. For all its sonic oddities, The Golden D doesn't always have songs that rise far beyond mere ambition.

Alvin injects these historic tunes with his own modern flavoring that keeps them fresh in light of their aging repose.

An album that when all the preconceived notions and over baring expectations are stripped away, boils down to a good old fashioned soul record, filled with all the accoutrements that call to mind the glory days of 60's R&B.

One of the better albums released this year...

This self-titled effort is the kind of wall-to-wall spitting, snarling aggression that they haven't fully unleashed on the world since Let's Go.

Bringing some rock into swing is clearly Setzer's forte, and he blurs the lines between swing, rockabilly, and surf with ease.

He has created a record that fully embraces the inclinations we all sometimes have to find a tune with strong enough melody to hum through the day.

Happy Ending is mostly generic, but far from your typically embarrassing thespian rock...

Fans of the The Verve, or just plain fans of "Bittersweet Symphony," may feel a little let down as the record as a whole, though still steeped in a love of strings and complex arrangement, does not carry the same sonic weight of previous work.

Pop Trash plays out with a quiet, digestible ease that stays firmly grounded in the comfort zone they have managed to create for themselves.