If the game needed Illmatic, this is the one Nas needed to get out of his system, acting as a clearing house for all venom and bile, plus some gloss that doesn't fit but needed to go as well.

This compilation won't do anything to make Maus' bizarre intentions more clear or his cloudy legacy more cohesive, but for those already converted, its 16 songs will be essential.

Though there are a couple of missteps here, Another Country is a welcome new phase for Wilson.

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

While Jewellery's nimble pastiches and small but palpable emotional undercurrent are missed occasionally, Never is never boring, and fans will have as much fun figuring out what makes these musical wind-up toys tick as Micachu and company had putting them together.

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

Hacienda have made a solid album under his [Dan Auerbach's] direction.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

While both the sternly Chassidic and sternly roots reggae factions of his fanbase might find it disappointing, Spark Seeker holds plenty of life and appeal.

While fans of these musicians' individual projects might not find what they expect on the album, Harmonic will reward anyone brave enough to wade into unfamiliar waters to discover something they probably haven't heard anywhere else.

Herve Vincenti and Philippe Petit's collective group retains its neo-no wave/industrial clatter on From Beyond Love, again recruiting a variety of guest vocalists track for track to extend the feeling of a decentralized, ever-shifting effort.

Mostly, Talent works as an overall experience with loads of rich sonic atmosphere, hummable melodies, and artfully restrained emotion. Quite the impressive debut.

While Cellar Door will definitely come across as too smooth for certain palates--probably even for some fans of Idjut Boys' more dance-oriented material--it is an undeniably classy affair that's all the more impressive for maintaining a commitment to unabashedly lush prettiness while somewhat miraculously avoiding any hint of schmaltz.

It's a startling, challenging, and significantly enjoyable debut album.

Get What You Give hits hard and fast, with highlights coming from the epic (by hardcore standards) "White Light" and the surprisingly melodic "Engine 45" and "Dark Horse."

Rather than a catharsis or even an explosive slab of entertainment, Slug Guts have coughed up a visceral collection of desperate howls, sometimes difficult to engage with, but equally difficult to ignore.

This band hasn't sounded this enjoyable since the mid-'90s, and if it isn't a full-scale return to form, it shows they aren't a spent force.

It lives up to the title and provides an enjoyable contrast to the darker moods earlier in the album.

A truly engaging listen, Tree Bursts in Snow should see the band build on their unexpected transatlantic exposure.

For those willing to rise to the challenge, Fragrant World has a wealth of obscured moments of bizarre genius.

Rather than offer anything new, they instead focus on re-introducing the band as a creative unit whose capacity for musical excellence is undiminished.

An unusually satisfying tribute album.

There aren't really any new rules on this album, just old-school honky tonk dressed up in shiny new boots.

This collection ultimately serves as a chronology of an incredibly important band as it phases through the good, bad, and ugly of an unprecedented run of magical songs in every era.