The band's audible confidence in its music gives it the ability to negotiate sudden shifts of tempo, volume, distortion and tone without fussiness or confusion, demonstrating what Franz Ferdinand might sound like if the Scots were a little less together.

Perfectly arranged and one of the best of 2004, it's an ideal starting point for newcomers.

Bloc Party may not have arrived first in the retro-'80’s sweepstakes, but this great album stakes their belated claim to it.

Mostly acoustic, with flecks of jaunty snares and loping bass work, his singing is the best so far -- confessional, inspired and bracingly touching.

Stevens' most personal and focused album.

Antony and the talented Johnsons brilliantly evoke the grandeur and dolor of cocktail hour ennui.

The Robinsons remain a fascinating couple on Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, burning through more inspiration and ideas in one album than any band has a right to.

The gap between expectations and delivery, the contrast of emotions that go into real life as opposed to pop fantasy, makes this brief but satisfying album a pointed delight.

MGMT's first long-player may have included catchier singles, but Congratulations is the better album, trading Oracular's deceptive superficiality for psychedelic grandeur. Of course, like all psychedelic things, that grandeur is pretty deceptive, too.

Favourite Worst Nightmare is a surprisingly significant improvement on an excellent debut.

More than any rock album in recent memory... this is a producer's creation.

It's hard to imagine any other band with as much indie cred that could succeed with this material; it would be too audacious.

A calm triumph.

Garza’s assault on the skins, much tighter than any Bonham comparisons could possibly describe, gives the album much of its strength and character. The rest can be attributed to creative, post-modern lyrics.

The sound is fuller, the arrangements more complex; most importantly, the songs are just a whole lot better [than Parachutes'].

Feist offers diversity and charm.

A strong batch of Dylanesque songs.

The album glistens with supple melodies, chameleon-like stances towards the history of rock and orderly, accomplished instrumental prowess.

Although the record shows scant evidence that over a decade of rock music has passed, the band doesn't sound anachronistic or out of touch alongside its younger competition.

In Rainbows is a richly textured and resonant record. In a career marked by dramatic reinvention, Radiohead’s latest phase — growing old gracefully--is going quite well.

Producer David Bottrill (King Crimson, Tool, Muse) gives Battle for the Sun a lean, sharp sound, stripping away a lot of the synthetic weight that bulked up the group's last few albums.

Architecture in Helsinki's penchant for simple, driven melodies and gentle, nurturing jam sessions underscore one essential truth about this type of glossy, polyrhythmic music: the thin, bittersweet textures are always anchored to a syncopated bass line.

The three- guitarist approach brings back the spark and rush of their 1988-'94 peak.

Teems with all the life that the band omitted from Oui.

Emphasizing colorful vocals over the average playing benefits the band enormously.

Dylanesque is a winner, succeeding both for its incongruity and its sympathy.

Cave has hinted at a more mature sound on the last few records; here, it comes across in richer, bolder arrangements, the result of his band's more active role in developing the songs.

A deeply moving record that is greater than the sum of its individual songs, The Libertines achieves near-tragic grandeur.