Closer is classic BTE: hopeful melodies, lead singer Kevin Griffin's uniquely sweet voice, enough pop to make you sing along and smile but thoroughly substantial and rewarding.

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.

What's most striking is simply that they are able to take such a drastically different tack with this album and still end up sounding like the same band.

A collection of near perfect (and brief, yes!) lo-fi pop tracks that openly mine the sonic groundwork laid by The Cars, Squeeze and even Led Zeppelin.

Rainer Maria still sit solidly in the emo-core genre, yet avoid producing music that is maudlin or obvious. In fact their graceful approach to music is exactly what disguises their insightful and detailed lyrics.

This is more of simply Hersh and an acoustic guitar than her last effort (1999's Sky Motel), but that just gives the appearance of other instruments greater effect. The emotional weight of her often unorthodox sentiments comes from subtle mastery of dynamics.

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.

In twelve brutally honest and dark tracks, Reed revisits the best elements of his early work...

Here the trio trade in the constant reliance on the fuzzed out guitars that led the charge of their steady rise through obscurity for the more subdued moments that have occasionally reared up in past projects.

One of the better albums released this year...

What is most striking about The Sophtware Slump, besides the band's resonating compositions, is its subtle approach towards invoking a strong cathartic response. It's at times a sleepy record with songs that only work as an afterthought, or only make sense when you can focus enough attention on what the band is actually saying. But it has just enough on the surface to strike an initial interest that unfolds, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, into the many brilliant aspects of this album and band.

It's impressive enough that Wainwright doesn't have the whole orchestra playing at once. But his well thought out arrangements are only the finishing touches on songs that would have held up even if he was given little more than a guitar and a pocket tape recorder to work with.

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

Bold forays into gospel, R&B and even a little soul (complete with ooh-oohing singers backing Burgess) display a far reaching confidence that rises as the album reveals itself to be not only something swimming in classic influences, but also a path-carving groove maker that falls in line with the likes of Stereo MCs and Jamiroquai.

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.

Adam's milked a meaty, soulful rock album out of the band…and it is good.

Not as immediate as Keep It Like A Secret, or as unified on the sonic surface, but with enough patience, Ancient Melodies of the Future resonates on a level that connects the band's body of work, while also taking it a step further.

Frank Black has dug in deep for this one, and come up with an album that captures the essence of his roots while expanding the realm he's been entrenched in over the last few years.

Refreshing and ultimately brilliant premiere.

Ultimately, there's a lot to be said about G Love's consistency and the way that amid a steadfast formula he never fails to feel fresh.

Alison Krauss & Union Station has a voice like honey, raw and honest and sweet, and she wraps it lovingly around these achy ballads and American Gothic lamentations.

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.

Even the ample cast of guests on The W seems less like a blatant attempt to boost its first week sales than simply a welcome attempt to add to its stylistic diversity. The result is something almost as rare as getting the entire Wu-Tang Clan together: a mainstream rap album that actually sounds like an album instead of a long-playing single.

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.

This album is nothing but a parade of their '70s and '80s hard rock influences worn proudly on their sleeves. And for that, rock 'n' roll fans should be grateful. Time Bomb is one romping anthem after another almost clear through to the end, a "hidden" piano ballad that serves only further cement the band's status as a throwback to the days of overwrought arena rock.

Though not in the same league as Some Great Reward or Violator, Exciter is a solid effort and refreshing reminder of the variety of pop music.

On God Says No, Monster Magnet sounds more simply like a cross between Soundgarden and any of a dozen longhaired stoner rock bands.

The album lacks nothing in substance, but in edge it could use a jolt.