An album that begins as a one-woman cabaret show discussing humanity's past and future and remains the work of a singular voice, one that recognizes that silence is just as vital as music.

As a whole Handwritten has all of the heart-on-rolled-up-sleeve passion that makes the Gaslight Anthem a band that is so easy to love and identify with.

Major feels like the coolest church service ever, devoid of dogma and ritual, and consecrated by the unholy smack of a thousand high-fives.

Though the environment that birthed the appropriately titled Gossamer may be a bummer, the end product is winningly majestic as it is obviously spun by the most malevolent of spiders.

Shrines is a fine debut, full of lighter-than-air synth pop that manages to be dark, sparkling, innocent, and knowing all at once.

Given that Early Birds is an hour-plus odds-and-sods compilation, it's not surprising that it doesn't flow like a proper album, but it does show that Múm knew what they were doing from the start.

Icky Blossoms succeed in showing many different sides of dance-infused indie rock with their debut, but there's an unsettled feeling that suggests the trio members weren't entirely sure where they wanted to go with the record.

Fortunately, all of it's enlivened by Gray's ability to (mostly) deliver strong performances that don't sound like they've been labored over.

For a debut album, There Is a Bomb in Gilead sounds remarkably confident and assured.

The band has a dedicated following and long-term fans will probably find much to enjoy on United We Stand. Those new to the band might find the album's relevance questionable at best.

All of this is worthy of re-visitation or discovery.

There's a paragraph of informative text for each track, along with sleeve and label scans, to place all of this enjoyable oddness into some kind of context.

Go Outside is less messy than one might have expected from Hot Panda, but that hardly means they've gone slick; now they have the chops to make the most of the pop instincts they've always had.

[Guthrie's] story is presented here in this wonderful set.

Crowell and Karr have written an interesting album here, but it's no Diamonds & Dirt, the 1988 album that is Crowell's best, and an album that deftly straddles the personal and the general in a way this one does not, however intelligently wrought it is.

They grew up strong and they grew up fast, so fast that their recordings retain a visceral force that makes The Complete Beat something more than a dream come true for fans: it is a convincing argument for their greatness.

Mark Knopfler has brought some star power to The Sailor's Revenge, but he's also treated Bap Kennedy's skills as a performer and tunesmith with the care they deserve, and this is a dark but frequently beautiful set of Celtic-flavored contemporary folk.

His first official solo outing (he recorded a rollicking 2009 album under the moniker Lady of the Sunshine) finds the Australian singer/songwriter successfully bridging the gap between bearded Laurel Canyon rambler and bearded indie pop urbanite.

All the selections on this best-of compilation focus on the high-energy side of the music, but that's no bad thing, and it's enough to make a listener sweat just from the speed and breakneck precision of it all -- it's not just father and son who are outstanding, it's the whole band.

The album doesn't have as many slyly powerful hooks as Nostalgia, Ultra, but Ocean's descriptive and subtle storytelling is taken to a higher level.

On a Bedroom Wall is an impressive record from a "joke" band, full of emotion and hooks, which should get them taken seriously by lovers of '80s-influenced sounds done in a thoroughly modern manner.

There are always nuggets to be found on a Proclaimers record, and Like Comedy doesn't disappoint.

For the serious Adams enthusiast, this is a nice bonus to a solid album from the ever prolific, often unpredictable singer/songwriter.

Russell's powerhouse voice is not used to best advantage on the lightly dancing Latin-soul grooves that are Quantic's strength, and so on a number of tracks it sounds as if she's a racehorse being kept to a trot. That's not enough to keep this from being a very good album, but it prevents it from being a great one.

The occasional recorder and kazoo only add to the weirdo charm of this very fine album.

A few listens to Mama confirms that Wells knows how to make a compelling record, but primarily as a producer and arranger; as an artist, she could use a mentor to focus her talents.

Hypnotic Nights still delivers all of the brilliant power pop worship that we've all come to love from JEFF the Brotherhood, and if the album isn't able to kick off your summer, nothing will.

Diamandis is trying to expose the artifice of big-box pop music by using its own voice, and despite the obvious trappings of the concept, she does a fairly respectable job.