Rinocerose's specialty is dropping an army of scratchy, shrieking guitars into the dumbed-down world of modern disco.

Another batch of tunes that entwine gorgeous, intricate arrangements with the dark, intoxicating side of our libidos.

Reality is easily one of his most emotionally transparent albums.

Everything Must Go is another great Steely Dan album, a hardy inclusion to their splendid canon.

A shimmering example of wistful chamber folk-pop.

With the exception of the swaggering "Vegas Two Times," Just Enough may not pack the same wallop as Cocktails, but tunes like "Lying In The Sun" and the soaring "Watch Them Fly Sundays" instantly stand out as some of the band's best to date.

The perfect combination of restrained production and sparkling tunes.

Whatever angst might have settled under the surface has been swept clean and in its place a jubilant spiritual quest in is place.

Throughout, Young's guitarwork--in tone and style--is noticeably on the money, playing his fuzzy, single-note melodic lines with the deliberateness of a horn player.

While there's no question that this is rooted in the '80s (not always a good thing), when the two concentrate on songs, it sounds mighty good.

Beautiful, sparkling folk-pop reminiscent of Velvet Underground's Loaded era, but with distinctive swooning melodies.

With the exception of "Undertow," Long Distance falls short of perfection. But as no one else stateside is currently making pop quite this lush and lovely, Ivy continues to raise hopes.

His latest rocks, boogies, swings and croons with a comfortable feel that's low on BS and high on integrity.

Honkin’ On Bobo is a big bruiser of an album, with heart, soul, and fury to spare.

Stellastarr stand out from 2003's even-newer-new-wave-of-new-wave pack in that they manage to borrow from the suddenly-cool-again decade of Pacman and parachute pants without sounding like they've spent the last six months sequestered in a loft watching VH1's I Love The '80s documentary series in a constant loop.

Yes, it's an earful of music, but it's a good earful, with more smarts, twists, turns and ear-pleasing trickery than one band should be allowed.

Daylight ups the electricity and the songs cleverly find their way into your immediate recall.

Stronger than 1999's terminally delicate Out Of Tune, Excuses takes a bolder and more assertive approach to Halstead's tunes, giving him a sound akin to like-minded Aussie singer-songwriter Paul Kelly.

An album that sounds vital and immediate.

Tito Puente meets Daft Punk!

Wait a minute... you mean this isn't a Duran Duran album?

The album carries a compelling intensity among the varied and evocative songs.

While Souljacker is not exactly a great leap forward for the band, it is a satisfying continuum from the superb Daisies Of The Galaxy.

The album never shifts into angular or faster textures but maintains its overall coasting level with clarity, precision and charm.

An extremely organic sounding album that can stretch throughout genres (reggae, blues, hippie rock) without letting the bong smoke escape.

Hammond's vocal, minus Waits's affected (and annoying) growl, puts the emphasis where it belongs--on the songs. The effect is to make peculiar vistas like "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" and "Murder In The Red Barn" even more vivid and the tunes truly sound like artifacts from another era.

Night Works proclaims the victory of brains over booty-call, mind over matter, craft over cash.

Keeping their collective heads above water here is a solid adherence to strong uncomplicated melodies and the kind of sugary harmonies you don't much hear these days.