Hidden City would have made a great EP, but falls far short of the mark as an album. It closes this arbitrary trilogy on a strange and unsatisfying note.

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

Creaturesque's subtler pleasures may require more time to sink in than the impulsive skinny-dip plunge of its predecessor, but fans of classic-styled melodic indie rock will find it every bit as summery and inviting as the backyard swimming pool on the cover, and well worth the wade.

Pluto is fat and redundant at 15 tracks, but it delivers whenever you desire that purple and woozy, Cudi-meets-Khalifa flavor.

All in all, like most Melvins albums, Freak Puke is something you haven't heard before and, also like most Melvins albums, it's probably something you should.

Cemetery Highrise Slum is a worthy effort with a highly crafted vibe, but Creepoid's personality only shines through some of the time.

A Love Extreme is, as its title suggests, an album of sonic extremes, but those willing to sit through both discs will find a number of eccentric, engaging songs, particularly on side two.

With few duds to speak of, The Space Project sees most of its contributors turning in high-quality material, interacting with the sounds of the unknown in inventive and inspired ways.

Introducing Darlene Love doesn't show off many new wrinkles of her talent, but if you want to know if Love still has what it takes to make a great record, this album shows the answer is an unambiguous "Absolutely!"

Telekinesis isn't often cited as one of America's best and smartest pop acts, but Effluxion demonstrates Learner lives up to that billing, and this LP is a real treat for power pop obsessives and anyone who likes some melodies with their rock & roll.

Though France warded off rumors of a band breakup prior to the album's release, it's clear that Foxygen is moving on from the past in dramatic fashion with an album that's part formal complaint and part kiss-off.

GUV IV is yet more proof that no matter the genre or sound -- whether it's the band's beloved jangle pop or something further out on the indie pop spectrum -- they are up to the challenge and will deliver the goods.

Heartfelt and well-built songs like "Cheap Coffee" and "We Are Loved" help anchor the set, but there's an underlying banality that keeps it from greatness. Still, it's an improvement on its predecessor.

Gold Dust is another of Amos' dreams realized--to record live with an orchestra--and it is most certainly for her dedicated fans, who will no doubt find elements in these new versions to enjoy.

Every song on Charleston has been ironed flat, so there are no unseemly natural inflections, something that Rucker doesn't need but which helps make Charleston, SC 1966 a gleaming example of polished, pressed, modern country-pop.

Brooks doesn't try to do anything differently; he just picks up where he left off and the time away has only made it clearer how he's different from all that came before and all that came since.

Versatile certainly has its flaws and will likely appeal mostly to longtime fans, but Morrison invests himself in each tune, singing as if he wrote them. This is head and shoulders above similar efforts by his peers.

Mystikal really couldn't ask for better production, overall -- all the tracks have bouncy, ass-shakin', club-ready beats, and nearly all have quite catchy hooks

Certainly it's not as important or ambitious as his principal projects, but on the other hand there's less of the clever ostentatiousness that can sometimes drive you up the wall.

Scorpio Rising may not have the coherence of its forerunner, but its individual eclectic achievements still add up to an engaging album.

On their Rounder debut, the band continue to challenge their fans with 11 new tunes that show off their growing playing and songwriting skills.

If you're just looking for some furiously raw background music, Trash Talk will do just fine, but if you're hoping that the songs will hit as hard as the band does, No Peace is a real letdown.

The electronic bedroom pop inventiveness of his earlier EPs and debut has been replaced by plaintive bedroom pleas on this misguided second effort.

Call Me Insane shows the honky tonk man can still write 'em and sing 'em as well as you could hope, and he's not slowing down a quarter-century into his career.

By expanding their horizons on Althaea, Trailer Trash Tracys have become an even more singular act.

Lightsleeper never quite coalesces. Instead, it drifts, floating from point to point, thought to thought, offering some memorable sounds along the way but never quite coming into focus.

The band mixes things up with the a cappella word salad of "Sleepin' at the Meeting" and the sentimental balladry of "Paris to Sleep." By and large, however, Hotel Last Resort follows the formula the Violent Femmes have been perfecting since their inception, delivering an above average batch of their wiry, smart, and sometimes tortured songs.

The guys in Empire of the Sun manage to not only catch the lightning again, but their skill at crafting perfect pop, the depth in their songs, and the emotion their voices transmit make this record better than one might have ever expected. Modern pop doesn't get any better than this.