It features the same schizophrenic, influenced-by-everything quality of Dre's The Love Below, but where people were able to overlook the many boring-to-terrible tracks while skipping to "Hey Ya" or "Roses," The New Danger fails to feature as strong a centerpiece.

Sad music has never sounded so uplifting.

Whether Kimya is trying to find the light side of death or losing faith in her heroes of past, she comes off rather upfront, upbeat, and positive.

All the idiosyncrasies which either drew you to Waits or repelled you from him are present, and many songs hold a resemblance to past gems.

A great hip-hop album, an accomplishment that whipper-snappers in both hip-hop and the pop-music world at large would benefit from attempting to emulate.

Overall, the songs are more accessible, with clearer melodies and less discordance. For many bands this would be a misstep, but it turns out that Q & Not U's penchant for the catchy is one of their best assets.

Pressure Chief won't change your mind on the band, although I will call it their weakest effort simply because there's no memorable single like "The Distance," "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," or even "Never There."

Burned Mind contains some of the heaviest moments on record that I've ever heard.

Armed mainly with just his guitar and voice, Panda Bear creates some of the most longing and heart-rending songs you'll ever hear.

The style is, in fact, so far from themselves and close to Smith that I'm going to assume this is a one-off mourning effort. If it is, it's worthwhile for anyone moved by Smith's death; but if they make another, it'd be extremely blasphemous.

Melodies are practically nonexistent, leaving the music almost completely ignorable.

Instead of in-your-face intricacy and complex rhythms, Travistan displays a much more restrained complexity that doesn't jump up and down for attention; and replacing the innovative vocal lines are cloying melodies that never seem to end.

While some of the tracks on the album may get bogged down in their own slumped posture, tracks like "The Extremists," "A Go-See," and "Soft Light" are instantly palatable and give a take on the '80s which says, blame the decade, not the music.

Very straightforward Interpol-lite.

Smile is quite simply the greatest triumph in the history of pop music.

What keeps Last Exit grounded is the laid-back approach to the vocals and beats.

Unfortunately, I Dreamed We Fell Apart straddles the unhappy line between experimental music and very un-experimental lap-pop.

[A] gleaming, polished gem.

Self-referential, unified, and insanely catchy, American Idiot's positives outweigh its clichéd delivery and ironic medium for corporate America critique.

While not as immediately consumed fully as a whole as Rejoicing In The Hands was, when given time and taken apart to be put back together anew, Niño Rojo clearly states the depth of Banhart's presence, if admittedly, not quite making a clear purpose just yet.

Here we have an artist who's been making music for nearly 25 years and this album sounds fresh and new. This album is, by far, the best record I've heard this year.

For new listeners, this is the most accessible Sand album to date, but for veteran Sand nuts, this may be... well, just different.

Even by Cornell's extremely shallow standards, this is unbelievably lazy production. [Joint review of both discs.]

Each CD is crammed to a full 50 minutes with some of the most heinous crimes against good taste since Wham's "Wham Rap! '86." [Joint review of both discs.]

If Tegan and Sara were looking to release something which sounds like so much of the girl based rock, which can be found on TRL and on the radio waves, then they could most likely consider So Jealous a wild success.

One of the best albums of the year, hands down.

Both infectiously danceable and highly intelligent.

The Citizens have blended a poignant and fascinating, personal self-image of professional musicianship that elevates the band to unanticipated captivation.