Consider this an exciting double-LP throwback that drops "Even if I die, living legend" during the opening cut and then just gets bigger and bolder from there.

It demonstrates that Jackson is as comfortable with the poppier side of country as he is with the harder stuff, and he can deliver it without seeming as if he's pandering, a feat that is almost as impressive as those generic detours he's taken in the past few years.

A promising debut with a few flashes of brilliance, Lacuna is an appealingly summery set of songs despite a few lulls in its energy.

Another winning record.

With Return of Saturn, No Doubt have made a terrific, layered record that exceeds any expectations set by Tragic Kingdom.

Eve-Olution can't offer as much as either of her first two solid LPs.

So Marjorie Fair's debut isn't an immediate five-star classic. But its backgrounds are incredibly well-crafted... and the songs' blend evening-sun comfort with a quiet forlornness that's somehow welcoming.

While the six tracks that follow don't wallow in the same waters of failed redemption as the title track, they do cling to Furr's folksier moments, resulting in a solid addendum for those who prefer Blitzen Trapper's Bob Dylan meets the Grateful Dead fetish over their visceral, vaguely psychedelic Southern indie rock jams.

This is a harder and faster-than-usual album from the group, and yet there's also a heavier element of control throughout.

Neil is making music for the moment and he doesn't much care if it lasts beyond that day or not, and while living in the moment is a good way to get through life, it doesn't do much for albums.

Several tracks ("heavy," "heartbreak3r," "regret") follow a similar emo-rap style, but On to Better Things gets more interesting when Dior commits fully to exploring different approaches.

As it stands, the album is a decent attempt at a fresh start that won't put off too many Girls fans, but until he figures out exactly what kind of singer/songwriter he wants to be, won't likely earn him too many new fans.

On its own, listeners may be lulled to the chilly deeps of sleep, but paired with the accompanying DVD, they'll be wiping the salt spray from their brows and pulling long rows of kelp out of their teeth.

Clearly, all the partying caught up to [Billie Joe Armstrong], but while he was racing recklessly, he cut this terrific little party record.

Despite lushly detailed arrangements, Bareilles never pushes this distinctly commercial gift too hard, letting the songs flow easily and this gentleness is almost as appealing as those classically constructed melodies, tunes so softly insistent they could conceivably appear on adult contemporary charts anytime from 1971 to 2010.

Here, he reverses that dynamic, playing the studio like the virtuoso that he is, and he's come up with his best record in years, a shamelessly enjoyable piece of aural candy.

Time Is Over One Day Old is a subtle and moody work that somehow manages to keep moving forward with a mechanical precision, giving one the otherworldly, but not at all unpleasant, feeling of standing still on a moving walkway.

Overproduction and a general (and oddly generic) sense of overarching silliness keeps the 15-track set from achieving the lovely balance of dirty wit and sincere heartache that made albums like Wayward Bus and Charm of the Highway Strip so immediate and life affirming.

Green Day are watching the world burn from an air-conditioned dance floor on Father of All.... While the album doesn't deliver their most memorable songs, its wild glam experimentation and attitude-heavy performances show a band still seeking new thrills even decades in.

Silicon Tare is an exciting warm-up for the epic conclusion to the Com Truise story.

There's only one track with any forward motion, and it's the overly slick and one-dimensional "I'll Be Back." Otherwise, Otherness is mostly murky and overcooked ballads, without hooks or much emotional impact.

Unfortunately, by tailoring their sound to the stage, they sacrificed some of the beautiful flow and elegant dynamics that made their self-titled effort so effortlessly brilliant.

A promising debut and one more considered, nuanced, and realized than most bands achieve deep into their tenures.

This is the sound of an artist open to a range of possibilities so vast they can't help but contradict each other, and he just can't be bothered by the confusion or annoyance those contradictions may cause his listenership. In the end it doesn't matter anyway, as Raposa is already on to one of the album's many moments of brilliance by the time our heads have stopped spinning from one of its moments of unfettered oddness.

As a Vaselines album, V can't help but be disappointing. None of the unpredictable magic they used to be able to conjure, in the distant past and on Sex with an X, is on display, and they seem to be resigned to the fact that they are just a good rock band now.

While it's an overall relaxing experience, Truth Is a Beautiful Thing is never boring; it's a comforting and often heartbreaking listen that really gets under the skin, especially with Reid's emotive delivery.

It's largely unobtrusive and serviceable, distinguished mostly by Smith's elastic voice and increased specificity and complexity to the reflective and romantic songs.

The Wagons have a strong track record of their own but there's something special to Expecting Company?; when paired with other singers, the overarching vision of Henry Wagons stands out clearer than it ever has.