Miller's duet with Rosanne Cash on "As Close as I Came to Being Right" is a gem, one of the best realized moments of his solo career; it's the best thing on The Dreamer, but there's plenty of other music here that should earn the approval of fans of both Rhett Millers.

Musostics is a more satisfying album that proves Junior Electronics can now do even more with less.

Darker, wiser, and more personally reflective than her work with Angus, By the Horns strikes a nice balance between standard, confessional singer/songwriter fare and radio-ready alt-pop.

He sounds comfortable where he is and Lynne presents him in a shining, flattering light.

A wonderful debut from a truly promising singer.

There's No Leaving Now succeeds best when he breaks out of that mode of one enjoyable enough ingredient constantly reused, or at least tempers it more thoroughly than at other times.

Compared to Usher's previous album, this is weighted more heavily toward dance-pop, much of which is functional and well made but unremarkable.

There's the bad feeling that all this Xanax chewing and gun throwing might be bad for the health and/or soul, but Triple F Life moves fast and rocks hard, making it hard to dwell on its shortcomings.

[The album offers] an easy, accessible entry point into this Dark Knight's world.

While some of Red Night's songs might still be a little too insular for their own good, the album still finds the Hundred in the Hands coming into their own and expanding their identity at the same time.

The album's spottiness becomes just another part of the Guided by Voices experience, and in a strange way it eventually works as a positive attribute.

With softer edges, a fuller sound, and some clever detours that don't take them too far away from the Jaill sound, it's a good showing that proves they are too consistent to fall into a sophomore slump.

On Falling Off the Sky, the four individuals make strong, intelligent, and well-crafted pop music that's significantly less wiry and more thoughtful and mature (for lack of a better word) than the records they made in the 1980s.

While Potter's melodies and hooks are solid on The Lion the Beast the Beat, some of her lyric choices are still a bit clunky. However, she and the Nocturnals compensate with passion, execution, and smart production choices and arrangements.

Rinse Presents is the sound of somebody who is already at the top of their game.

This is a keeper if you've already bought into the guitarist's more-is-more approach that has served him well thus far, and he shows no signs of abandoning it now.

Jackson may have been cast in the eternal sideman role in Belle & Sebastian, but (I Can't Get No) Stevie Jackson shows without a doubt that he is a pop craftsman in his own right.

Ode to Sentience sports elegant, graceful chamber-folk arrangements that make the most of the space between the instruments.

The basic goal of Pumice to produce fuzzy, echo-heavy home recordings of pop hooks as such remains the same.

It's the complementary nature of the bands' sentiments more than their sounds that makes Aureola successful.

Royal Thunder ultimately sound like no one but themselves.

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.

Whitechapel is a band that is definitely worth checking out, and with its expansive and devastating sound, this self-titled album makes for a great jumping-off point.

Taylor gets deeper into his musical roots than he has on previous releases, creating a powerful set of songs that sound as if they could have been recorded in 1974.

Tape hiss has rarely sounded so enjoyable.

Strange Heaven shows that Mrs. Magician have a lot of potential, especially if they keep the biting wordplay and broaden their sonic horizons.

A (largely instrumental) record that's considerably more sophisticated, atmospheric, and arty than some of his professed inspirations.

A winning, if a little overly earnest, collection of millennial retro-pop that feels like a well-intentioned, if slightly awkward, high five.