Dancing and dreaming at the same time is always lovely, and with Apar, Delorean have again provided a perfect soundtrack for just such a pursuit.

Unfortunately, the times the band steps into more lighthearted -- at least musically -- territory are not nearly as successful.

Far from being an album for wallowing in the depths of grief, True Sadness is a record about the emergence of hope.

Green's past albums have all been enjoyable affairs. This one, however, is a masterpiece.

This is as good as it gets right now; it'll be the country album to beat in 2007.

Ultimately, even layers of fuzzy noise and fully saturated weirdness can't obscure the band's hooks or their unique pop perspective.

Add it all up and it's a weird and wonderful set, as hyped-up, hallucinatory, and hot as the film that either oozed or sweated it out.

His newfound control on Estara makes the flowing sounds and uplifting moods that distinguish him within the beat music scene all the more expressive.

This album easily captures Guided by Voices doing what they've always done and always will do--ride their seemingly endless font of catchy tunes and crunchy riffs into infinity, and though this is no career-defining masterpiece, as a make-busy project for five guys stuck in a snowstorm, it's pretty great.

As it is, it sounds like a brave experiment and a sincere effort to explore new creative avenues, but it's a long way from a rousing success. However, its high points leave one hoping that Farrar doesn't stop speaking his peace next time around.

Closing on the soaring, bittersweet ballad "Performer," Black joins the ranks of other pop chameleons on an impressive and engaging reinvention.

Lofgren doesn't shy away from big emotions -- one song, "Nothin's Easy," is explicitly dedicated to his wife Amy, who also serves as the album's co-producer, yet many of the other tracks feel informed by their relationship -- and that open-heartedness is the key to the album's success: it enlivens the studio precision and gloss, giving it a warm human pulse.

This mix of genres at work makes for an exciting listen, another addictive affair of dark melody and bold beats from a trio that excels in intelligent, deftly produced art pop.

Like fellow abstract lyricist Kristin Hersh, her quill is aimed at the introverted, resulting in work that is both deeply personal and frustratingly impenetrable.

There are things that don't work here: there are stilted, wooden arrangements that mar "I'm Am Not Waiting Anymore" with Sam Amidon, and Vernon's duet with Carter on Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand." Otherwise, I'll Find a Way is a fine, if uncharacteristically restrained, Blind Boys of Alabama recording.

This release is probably more for Mac DeMarco super fans than casual listeners, as there's nothing resembling the happy-go-lucky hooks of his best-loved songs, just the incidental sounds collected on a slow, aimless wander.

[A] likeable, meandering, bedroom parlor-pop outing.

The producer likewise incorporates vocals, either mostly or completely sampled, that tend to evoke senses of longing, losing grasp, and persevering.

An album in the old-school sense, with expansive tracks and detours that still add up to a cohesive whole, Last Night on Earth offers more proof that Ranaldo's music is just as satisfying, if not more so, on its own as it was as part of one of alternative rock's supergroups.

Tyevk are still at the best when they keep things short, snarky, and catchy, as on "Underwater 1's" sunken mental asylum rave-up or the road rage rant "Pricks in a Car." Nevertheless, Nothing Fits proves that they can change things up and still deliver music with visceral impact.

New Wild Everywhere may not bring anything new to the table, but what It does bring, as is the case with the best comfort food, has been honed to perfection.

The Strokes' most mature music yet, Comedown Machine is a solidly enjoyable album, even if it lacks some of the band's previous spark.

Röyksopp have little left to say aside from what others have said more clearly in the past.

There's no shame in appealing to a more commercial crowd, and if You Me at Six could have continued to pursue the album's more mature mainstream moments instead of trying to prove their rawk credentials, Sinners Never Sleep would probably have turned out to be a more consistent affair.

Free from vague thematic restraints, this volume works as the most immediately listenable and comprehensible of the Nomad Series and stands alone as another strong volume of the craft Cowboy Junkies have been honing for years.

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."

A predilection for brevity and simple pop craftsmanship ultimately tempers their more obstinate tendencies, resulting in a smart, well-executed set of staccato dance-rock anthems that flirt with excess, yet never overstay their welcome.

By the end, listeners will feel like they've been laying out in the sun all day, warm in the glow of the Donkeys' heartfelt love for all things Cali, complete with the sound of washing waves and seagull cries.