Supergrass come crashing back to life with Diamond Hoo Ha, an album every bit as cheerfully gaudy and vulgar as its title.

The simple arrangements and hands-off production add to the gentle but decisive impact of The Good Life, and the result is a fine calling card for a young singer/songwriter who may not have worked out every last detail of his sound but clearly knows where he's going, and it happens to be a place worth visiting.

The riffs are huge, the rhythms are sneaky and brutal, and the "guitarmonies" are effortless, due with little doubt to the band's epic touring schedule. In fact, everything's been turned up, except the vocals.

The record has a sizeable amount of drama or gravitas as well.

Less busy instrumentally than P:ano, the band still deals out polyrhythms generously and peppers its tunes with a vast arsenal of instruments that include expansive lap steel, woodwinds, and string and horn sections.

At this point, Lady Antebellum is a group that seems to know the basics of contemporary country but isn't ready to move beyond them or redefine them for its own ends. Still, this is a good beginning.

So even though these tunes remain brief and concise (only one song, 'Your English Is Good,' tops the three-minute mark), they're also varied, which makes Tokyo Police Club's official debut seem less like the work of hyper-caffeinated teens and more like the promise of a smart, evolving band.

Even if Kensington Heights is the Constantines' least satisfying album, the band's sound is never less than mighty; it's just disappointing how easy it is to let so many songs here fade into the background

Jim is most reminiscent of the Southern deep soul of the late '60s, although recorded so well (and so dry) that it betrays its lineage. Add to that an assortment of unobtrusive guests (including Nikka Costa, Gonzales, Peaches, and Alex Acuña) and the result is a record that reveals soul and sincerity.

They are all solid examples of the band's unique blend of indie sweetness, psychedelic experimentation, and solid songcraft.

While Elf Power haven't started to turn into Steely Dan on us, after a dozen years Elf Power has a lineup that can lay down a solid groove, add tasty guitar and keyboard accents and generally sound like a for-real band rather than a music fan's goof.

Hardcore fans will be down with every cold hard minute, everybody else gets a B+ effort, and the hip-hop game as a whole gets a really good reason to save Prodigy's place at the table for the next three-and-a-half years.

The trademark Proclaimers sound was still there, including the finger-snapping opening title track, the staccato guitar that introduces "In Recognition," and the thoughtful lyrics, discussing religion on 'New Religion' and 'If There's a God.'

It's intriguing that Live in Liverpool is the Gossip's first release for Columbia's Red Ink imprint--it's not exactly an ideal introduction to the Gossip's fiery music, but it is a great testament to why fans are so devoted to the band.

While the American Smile is a worthy follow-up to Rainbow and Pink, it's the Japanese version of the album that makes it a masterpiece.

The nice thing about the soulful shimmer of We Sing is that it's so slick that it's easy to ignore the gibberish spilling out of Mraz's mouth and just enjoy the sunny, easy sound.

This time out, he's a single short and couple songs too long, but his back is strong enough to carry the weight, proving once again he's one of the Dirty South's most reliable voices.

It's mildly disappointing that the Futureheads' first independently released music sounds more conventional than what they issued on other labels, but This Is Not the World is still a solidly enjoyable album on its own terms.

Great Vengeance and Furious Fire is too uneven to be great, but its handful of fantastic singles makes for an extremely promising debut.

This is the sort of psychedelia that space rockers and Nuggets fans alike can come together over.

If you don't like the Beach Boys, you won't like this.

This isn't Local H's best album, but it's certainly their most daring and emotionally naked, and the results are truly impressive.

Bring Ya to the Brink is one of the more intriguing detours along the way.

The bottom line is that this diversity is not a lack of focus, but growth and development that make the band stand out from the pack, making the effort to spin this a few times yield very big rewards.

There's a pronounced chamber music feel to much of the instrumentation, particularly with the liberal use of cello and violin drones, as well as harp accents. Often it's darker and tougher, however, than some other artists who follow similar lines.

Velocifero isn't as dramatic a step forward as Ladytron's other albums.

For Carly Simon's fans, this will ultimately be a most welcome return to her songwriting form.

It's a lot like "Jagged Little Pill," but musically this is far closer to the muddled mystic worldbeat of "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," thanks in large part to her collaboration with Guy Sigsworth, best known for his productions with Björk and Madonna.