The musicians still churn out standard-issue heavy metal thrash à la Metallica to support Chüd's nihilistic pronouncements, usually sung in an enraged howl.

Even if The Spine is decidedly uneven, it still has enough good songs to please diehard fans and keep them around for the next album.

For the most part the results are solid, limited only by some unimaginative arrangements and an unfortunate tendency toward repetitive refrains.

While their artistic risk-taking is commendable, unfortunately the same can't always be said for the results: Black Cherry sounds unbalanced, swinging between delicate, deceptively icy ballads and heavier, dance-inspired numbers without finding much of a happy medium between them.

Deftones sticks a little too close to familiar territory this time around.

It's hard not to find this album kind of disappointing, a confirmation that no matter what they do, Oasis Mach II will never have the sheer abandon or thrill as Definitely Maybe through Morning Glory.

A sparkling sophomore effort, carefully designed to avoid any kind of critical slump.

Taking disparate elements from their collective record collection, mashing them up, and spitting them out... the members of Silkworm nonetheless end up sounding like few other rock bands of their time while hardly sounding like a cover band revue.

If you are unfamiliar with the band, there are at least six other records that should get your attention before this one; just the same, this is hardly a disposable piece of the band's puzzle.

Beg for Mercy doesn't measure up to Get Rich or Die Tryin', but then, how many rap albums do?

The album feels more slapped together than their debut.

Borrowed Heaven's lyric sheet is filled with high school diary hackneyed favorites but if you like your pop - unadulterated pop - presented and played extremely well you're cheating yourself if you don't check it.

Aside from all the criticism, the previously unreleased musings of Aphex Twin are still far more intriguing and solid than most producers' best releases.

They're fresh and clean, delivering spiky cut riffs while lyrics are unpretentious about love and heartbreak.

In other words, he didn't take any unnecessary risks -- after all, the formula proved successful the first time around -- and that's partly why Nellyville isn't as exciting as it perhaps could be.

What gives it some distinction is that there's a freshness to the music, largely dervied from its quick recording, a quality that has been lacking in his records for many years now, arguably since Big Daddy.

Their most accessible album to date, lacking the flights of fancy and exuberant bizarreness that have marked each of their albums.

Thoughtful production, meatier music, and broader scope makes City worth hearing.

[The songs are] all distinctly clubby and therefore get a little tiring after a while.

Redemption's Son achieves a sophisticated marriage of traditional songwriting craft and avant-garde production.

The Ragpicker’s Dream is a restrained success, at least on its own terms. It may not please some of Knopfler’s old “Money For Nothing” fans, but at this stage, he’s obviously not trying to.

Many of the songs sound like they're just on the verge of achieving liftoff, never quite reaching their potential.

Hanna straddles the line between cheeky and obnoxious throughout.

Adopts a fuller, more polished sound than her earlier work, but her songwriting is just as innocent and heartfelt-sounding as ever.

Consolidates the strengths and weaknesses of the American Movie one disc.

Clinic is still one of the most intriguing acts around, and while this isn't the masterpiece the band has the potential to deliver, an interesting disappointment from them is still better than a successful but boring album from a less-inspired group.

Kids looking to anger their parents to the point of losing it should pick up this CD, turn up the stereo, and lock the door.

More quintessentially "metal" in his approach -- think Metallica -- and more of a conscientious technician than Marcos, Truby unfortunately lacks some of the unexpected spark that Marcos brought to P.O.D.

This is a return to the sound of Sixteen Stone, complete with big, grandiose production propelled by ballsy grunge riffs and real hooks in the guitars and vocals.

Indie pop fans, brace yourselves for a daydream trip.

Despite the simplistic formulas present here, these young men have patched together a sound that is catchy and eager for additional spins.

The least necessary Mase album, but half the tracks point to a future that is brighter than ever.

If it was pared down to its best tracks, Winchester Cathedral would make a solid EP. As it stands, it's far from bad, but it's a little boring, which is worse than bad from a band that has sounded so unique in the past.

This is music that works almost entirely as a surface pleasure; strip it of its pretensions, and it's just contemporary easy listening music.

While many will no doubt see this as an unfocused record, those who take it on more of a song-by-song basis will value it as a respectable addition to RZA's body of work.

Arguably, some prudent pruning might've made the album great instead of good, but even the album's uneven moments are still pretty enjoyable.

Short, simple, and lively, a collection of rollicking, quirky road songs that recall some of the more oblique moments on Teenager of the Year and the more rock-oriented tracks on Pistolero and Dog in the Sand.

Despite its flaws, Forget Tomorrow has enough beauty and creativity to suggest that Macha's best music may still be ahead of the band.

Although the musicians here understand how to convey complex emotions in a pop song, Wilson and his co-songwriters obviously don't, and it's with them that the blame for this record lies.

Though it is still faithful to much of the feel of Let It Be, the presentation of Naked, including the slight bits of modern-day editing, reveals that it is revisionist history, not the final word. Which doesn't hurt it as a record -- these are great songs, after all -- but it is a bit disappointing that this long-awaited project wasn't executed with a little more care and respect for the historical record.

Nothing scrambles the brain like Tomorrow Right Now's "Hot Venom," and no track has lyrics that hit as hard as Now, Soon, Someday's "Win or Lose You Lose," but the album maintains a consistency that neither of those releases can claim.

Face it, if The Donnas Turn 21 sounded as shamelessly sexy as the lyrics and tarted-up images, it'd be a hell of a little rock & roll record. Instead, this inspires feelings of guilt instead of guilty pleasure.

Overall, American Life is better for what it promises than what it delivers, and it's better in theory than practice.

Sounds fresher than anything the group has attempted in a long time.

Though both the lyrics and the production are quirky, there is nothing dumb about them.... The melodies have brilliant pop hooks and Russell's voice soars.

Overall, MACHINA meanders due to a combination of amorphous songs and precisely detailed production.

If they can keep this sound and get back the hooks, they'd have something as good as their first two records, but, as it stands, this is their first stumble.

The Photo Album does not quite meet the standard set by 2000's stellar We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes on a song-for-song level, but it's still a moving and intelligent collection of wistful pop.

There are occasional lapses in the lyrics department.

A solid, if average, album.

Under My Skin is a bit awkward, sometimes sounding tentative and unsure, sometimes clicking and surging on Avril's attitude and ambition.

It's hard not to walk away with the feeling he's capable of better than this.

These flashes of greatness don't quite add up to what could have been, but the album as a whole is still quite exceptional.

It isn't necessarily memorable, but as an exercise in measured, even artistic rage, it's classic Hamilton.

The end results are a bit unwieldy, perhaps, and not always successful, but it is interesting and certainly different than a Dave Matthews Band record.

Get ready for the hardcore fan backlash but Greater Wrong Of The Right at least makes up for The Process and with stunning structure from Key it beats most of the current industrial music competition.

A solid rock effort.

Some of these songs are familiar, but these arrangements are distinctly Weller's own, and it makes for an effective listen -- maybe not a major effort from the Modfather, but an enjoyable one all the same.

Elefant frontman Diego Garcia must have memorized nearly every song by the Cure while he was growing up, because his band's debut album, Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, is a shameless, abstract pop mix, a solid indie pop record heavy in new wave aesthetics.

Unfortunately though, Return to V isn't a back-to-basics record, and there isn't a single landmark to pick out from its 18 tracks.

Ultimately, it's hard to avoid that Auf Der Maur is living in the past, re-creating 1996 and acting like she's still 24.

A work of intense drama but little importance.

A string of songs that, like Luna, hints at greatness but never seems to choose the fork in the road that might take them there.

This slick homage to electronic hippie music sounds like two smart guys having genuine fun playing something they love.

Solid and pleasing, if somewhat predictable.

Overall, Jem's songcraft is only ambitious in relation to a genre often defined by a "blander is better" pleasure principle.

While there are some interesting musical moments on Folklore -- enough to make it worth a listen -- the dogged seriousness and didactic worldview become a bit overbearing not long before the album is a quarter of the way finished, particularly since the fusion of worldbeat and adult alternative pop often seems heavy-handed.

While this release shows real growth, one questions if that's what Donnaholics are looking for.

It does seem like a step backward for them, and it doesn't help that there aren't as many memorable songs here as there are on the debut.

Ultimately, quality singing and composing are the things that make Details a cut above much of the electronic Europop that came out in 2002.

Styrofoam represents the part of the Morr Music roster where the first three letters of the label's name might as well stand for "middle of the road."

One has to give credit to an '80s new wave musician who can adapt and create contemporary-sounding music.... The album can comfortably sit alongside Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails on store shelves. Pure doesn't drive like the industrialized adrenaline rush that is, say, Orgy, but the tracks' lingering and creepy pace leaves behind a different kind of impact -- it's more haunting than relentless

With Contraband, Velvet Revolver has pulled off something tidy, fashioning music that manages both hedonism and maturity.

Harmonium is confident and somber, a conscious attempt to be serious and mature that nevertheless still sounds adolescent, largely due to her earnest lyrics and overly ambitious music.

When it works, this can be pretty invigorating, but when it doesn't, it's utterly maddening.

The whole gang sounds as good as ever.

If judged merely on a sonic level it's one of the more interesting, detailed adult alternative records of recent years. But that pompous narcissism is his Achilles' heel, the thing that keeps wary listeners at bay.

Even though Wet from Birth occasionally gets tripped up on its own ambitions, it still has its share of enjoyable tracks.

Luda hasn't slipped into the complacent lap of luxury as deeply as some of his fellow platinum contemporaries, but it's evident that he's not as hungry as he once was.

Unfortunately, the album doesn't quite measure up to its hype and should disappoint those expecting Ludacris to top his past successes.

Justified is just sound and posturing, with no core.

A series of hard-rockin', tight tunes...

While the band still needs to develop more of its own sound, there's enough promise in stellastarr* to suggest that they might.

It's hard to deny the sparkle and fade of Depeche Mode beats and the sensual allure of Duran Duran. After 25 years, those sounds still hold up; by 2004, however, it's an incredible task to pull this kind of thing off without selling yourself to the tastes of the masses.

The biggest problem with the record is that the eye is on the big picture - from how the songs fit together, to how the overall sound fits a song - that the individual moments aren't all that memorable, clearly lacking singles as forceful as those that fueled Throwing Copper and not quite as compelling as a whole as its predecessor, V.

Encore never resonates the way his first three endlessly fascinating albums do.

Lifeblood is a pleasant listen, but once you peel away the keyboards, sensitively strummed guitars and tasteful harmonies and concentrate on Bradfield's nakedly open voice and Wire's terminally collegiate lyrics, it's hard to escape the unintentional pathos that winds up defining the album and, conceivably, the band's latter-day career.

It misses a little more than it hits.

Youth and Young Manhood isn't sonically adventurous, but in the new-millennium pop realm, some greasy licks sure sound good.

Hitting the Ground is flat-out clever, cool, and cocky.

With the gleaming, self-aware production as well as both Danny Vicious' embarrassing rapping and Elisabeth Troy's overly soulful vocals, it's clear that Cole wants respect at every turn. Despite the consequences.

Muzikizum is informed by a slim, spare aesthetic that sounds more 1992 than 2002, evoking simply produced, imperial-sounding tracks from Spooky and Leftfield; in other words, the glory days of progressive house.

It might come off as too much of a mish-mash if not for the tongue-in-cheek glee with which Leroy pulls it off.

This is much more melodic and poppy than most dance fodder sharing similar beats...

Rather than moving through a broad palette of sounds, moods, tempos, and styles, the two British DJs choose to remain consistent, signaling the development of a signature style and a certain sense of confidence.

This record is really nothing more than a collection of sharp, witty, well-constructed pop songs.

The album has a more polished feel than its predecessor Up a Tree, as well as more of an electronica vibe...

Whereas many of the songs on their previous album sounded unfinished and rushed, The Night sounds like a fully realized work.