While Bad Brains never quite match the intensity of their early days, this is easily the best record they've released since Quickness.

While it shouldn't be a surprise for a Dr. Dog album to be a beautifully crafted slice of psych-pop goodness, the magic of the band lies in its ability to consistently beguile listeners with a sound that shows all the mark of genuine craftsmanship, something B-Room delivers from start to finish.

A strong, engaging, cohesive Rolling Stones album that finds everybody in prime form.

As If Apart maintains a laid-back, weekend-afternoon feel, but it never seems too lazy, as Cohen is clearly adept at crafting pleasant yet sophisticated songs.

There's no denying the sensibilities of Liam Gallagher & John Squire lie in 20th century guitar rock, but there's a freshness in how the duo's sensibilities intertwine that gives the record a warm, welcoming pulse.

You will be hard-pressed to keep from walking around all day grinning like a fish once you give the album an airing.

With West, WS plays post-history psychedelia; it is as necessary -- and freaky -- as anything from the eras that influenced it.

There's almost a subversive aspect to how City Center doesn't play to Thomas' known strengths, but the risk pays off: City Center adds another fascinating dimension to his music.

Lowery might not want to make a career out of his serious side, but The Palace Guards shows he can wise up and still make music that's smart and satisfying.

After such a lengthy time away, it's admirable that Dolby has returned with such a bold and difficult-to-pigeonhole record, but with its disappointingly flat production, A Map of the Floating City fails to make the most of its abundance of ideas.

It feels like they've channeled the looseness of their playing on Survival into a willingness to try anything once, and fortunately, most of their experiments stick.

Ten tight songs and out, and the album feels like a mystery itself, but artists who nail that stoic sense of wonder, like Isaak and Orbison, don't come around often. Waterhouse is certainly of their ilk.

Meaning of Life is one of her most satisfying albums: it feels like not just a collection of good tunes, but a statement of purpose.

59.59 is an astounding album, quite unlike anything one's ever heard before.

While the roots of the songs remain familiar, the Polyphonic Spree inject enough psychedelic charm and whimsy into the album that, if you don't think about it too much, just might have you forgetting you're listening to seasonal jingles, and that beats the hell out of "Jingle Bell Rock" any old day of the year.

As the record swiftly spins through these production and melodic hooks, it gives the impression of a jukebox filled with a bunch of excavated gems, and that's not a bad comfort zone for the Black Keys at all.

A little exposure to his constantly morphing flat baritone goes a long way.

Enjoyment of the Rapture's Tapes necessitates unfamiliarity with the majority of its contents, indifference to acute sequencing and, naturally, deep interest in what the band views as classic and fresh.

Anyone intrigued by the idea of emo-rap at its most introspective will find this a well-crafted and moving effort, while returning Atmosphere fans get the satisfying usual with some extra maturity and growth.

Steered by the singer's winsome, breathy vocals, even that message goes down easy, with an implied fluttered lash extension, on an album that aims to please and largely succeeds.

No matter how carefully constructed this whole enterprise is, See You There doesn't carry the same weight as Ghost on the Canvas.

Acting as a kind of crossroads between the old C.O.C. and the new, Corrosion of Conformity feels more like a distillation of their career than an evolution of their sound.

Televise is an impressive and adventurous -- if occasionally mopey -- collection of songs.

A pleasant sound, to be sure, but not exactly what Young followers were expecting.

These lo-fi crunches carve out a retro-minimalist experimentation not often found in musical eroticism.

This is her sexiest-sounding record, thanks to Jam and Lewis' silky groove and her breathy delivery, two things that make the record palatable throughout too many spoken interludes and songs that just don't quite click.

In the same vein as Saint Etienne, Ivy, and Emiliana Torrini, Autour de Lucie casts a spell.