Emergent Diddy protégé Jozzy shines on the slow-grinding funk of "It Belongs to You." Another highlight with brilliantly nuanced live instrumentation, "Moments," is Justin Bieber's new exhibit A in arguing his case as an R&B artist. .... Diddy for the most part is his typical self, ceding enough room for each singer and rapper while interjecting some conversational wisdom, relationship analysis, and random chatter with occasional bluster.

The rest of Laugh Track simmers at a precisely modulated temperature, bringing the songs to warmth slowly and steadily, which makes the ragged drone of the closing "Smoke Detector" so welcome: its insistent pulse and maze of guitars feel full-blooded and messy in a way the National has avoided for a long, long time.

The lively setting and empathetic harmonies help turn Bluegrass into an enjoyable detour: nobody is stretching themselves, they're merely laying back and having a good time, and that's hard not to enjoy.

Since the music he's drawing from is proudly excessive, it's hard to say Palomo overdoes it, but not all listeners may be fascinated by his meta-commentary on indulgent solo albums.

Ultimately, it's the singles that keep Angel Face interesting, an ironic twist, given that the period he fetishizes most certainly favored singles over LPs. So, in a sense, he has hit his mark squarely.

V is definitely a "more of the same" album, but Föllakzoid and Schmidt's human-machine fusion of minimal techno and space rock is still a unique sound that nobody has replicated, other than them.

The album's anxiety and melancholic mindset never abate, right up to and including resigned closer "Fishes," an explicitly metaphorical reference to mounted trophies. It makes for a satisfying, if unsatisfied, follow-up that both follows the appealing formula of their debut while letting loose on the full-band tracks.

At its heart, it's nothing more than the Rolling Stones knocking out some good Rolling Stones songs, which seems like a minor miracle after such a long wait.

Offset seems equally at home in almost every style he tries on, and though the heavily varied production and artistic approaches from track to track can give the album a less-than-consistent feel, the steady stream of guest appearances from stars like Future, Young Nudy, Latto, and others all help to emphasize how Set It Off is more exciting than it is uneven.

The EP's wistful quality combined with its brevity can make The Rest seem almost unassuming, but it's not slight: it's a welcome coda to the relative exuberance of The Record.

A stately and soulful set of songs rooted in the bittersweetness of nostalgia and adulthood.

If Jenny From Thebes may be a bit more cryptic than his best work, every song contains a yarn worth hearing, and his quietly bold, ordinary-guy delivery is surprisingly flexible, adjusting itself to fit any situation he presents.

"Blurring" is an inventive trip-hop diversion, with booming illbient bass, slowly crushing breaks, and a downright lovely vocal hook. It ends up leaving a much bigger impression than most of the other tracks on the album, even if it isn't exactly the type of earworm one might expect from the artist's description of his intentions for the project.

The Great Escape shows that Chris Stamey still has a faultless touch as a songwriter, vocalist, producer, and arranger, and it gently but confidently sees him adding new colors to his palette and using them well.

The whole album has that kind of off-kilter appeal and even when the singers break things down lyrically to the elemental level of survival in a world seemingly on the brink of collapse, this is music meant to transport the listener. Consider it a job well done and enough of an artistic success that one hopes the trio makes this one time gathering of like-minded souls a more regular occurrence.

Cohesion and comprehension are left on the cutting room floor of I<3UQTINVU, but these untamed reimaginings of the songs extend the album's fun and curiosity.

Morrison has never been a rockabilly cat, he's a blues shouter and he plays precisely to those strengths here, leading his band through lively and loving readings of rock & roll oldies, never apologizing for the unabashed nostalgia of the entire enterprise.

And Then You Pray for Me is a 75-minute feast, uneven and sometimes overly familiar if still satisfying.

It's definitely music for dourer days, although there's also an alluring elegance in play that can make it feel more mysterious than dispiriting. Like a lot of compellingly constructed minimalist music, Acts of Light benefits from repeat listens.

Once again working with co-producer Dave Cobb, Stapleton also has his wife Morgane behind the boards in addition to singing harmony and playing keyboards, a tight, familial group of collaborators that gives Higher a relaxed, familiar feel that keeps things buoyant even in its darkest moments.

By the time Rockstar reaches "Free Bird," the party has been rolling on for two hours and is starting to feel a little tired -- it doesn't help that Parton is duetting with the ghost of Ronnie Van Zant, either -- but that doesn't erase the good spirits created by the rest of the record.

If Innerstanding favors aural texture to melodic immediacy, there's intrigue in how its electronic pulse intermingles with shimmering mantras, resulting in a record that reveals its mysteries over time.

New Blue Sun is probably not the André 3000 solo debut most OutKast fans had expected or hoped for, but it does continue the integrity and spirit of his creative journey, in a way that's fittingly bizarre and beautiful.

Even considering its modest ambitions, it's probably not a surprise that Songs of Silence showcases instincts and inventiveness well beyond that of your typical synth-instrumentals diversion.

It's another page in Vile's ongoing catalog of daydreams and stoned musings, in its best moments reaching the same levels of quality as his fully considered albums.

Anches en Maat isn't one of Grails' more intense records, but it does a fine job of capturing the certain type of melancholy cinematic vibe that they've been exploring for much of their career.

Not every track on Welcome 2 Collegrove is essential, and the quality gets spottier in the final quarter, but the album stays consistently fun if not entirely engaging.

Saviors sounds cleaner, stronger, and purposeful, all due to the still-sharp pop instincts of Bille Joe Armstrong. Age may dampen Green Day's roar, but it has also heightened their songcraft, and that's reason enough to give Saviors time to let its hooks sink in.