She may not yet have the set of skills, or the experience, to give a nuanced, textured performance -- one that feels truly lived-in, not just sung -- but she's a compelling singer and Mind, Body & Soul lives up to her promise.

As far as debut albums go, Until the Earth Begins to Part may not be as important as it thinks it is, but it certainly delivers the promise of greatness.

It's mellow in the canyon tonight, so lie on your back and stare at the stars, let the music wash over you and don't "stop paying attention to the things that used to make you shine."

What gives The Ride its personality how these hooks bend through Congleton's production and Furtado's subdued delivery, shifting this mainstream pop just into a fringe where this singer/songwriter now seems happy to be.

While it makes for pleasant music to have on while you are sleeping away the afternoon in a cubicle or fighting insomnia late at night, the album is something of a letdown for anyone who, not unreasonably, came to it expecting something a little more interesting from Schnauss.

Like so much of "Emancipation" and E=MC2, which is a virtual replica of its predecessor in almost every way, 'Touch My Body' is all about sound, rhythm, and texture and not so much about song, something that helps sustain Mariah Carey's run at the top the charts, but something that also pushes melodic hooks, and in the process singing, into the background.

Refreshingly simple and cleverly stupid, I Get Wet makes indoctrination fun again.

Ask a Yelawolf regular for a listener's guide then split apart this purposeful beast accordingly.

Bloodlust may be pugilistic to a fault, but whatever it lacks in poeticism it more than makes up for in raw power.

There's no arguing Putnam has a genuine talent for writing melodies and giving them shape in the studio, but he needs to add more colors to his palate if he expects people to come back to hear the same tale again and again.

Though it's starkly rhythmic where Cornershop songs like "Brimful of Asha" are lush and trippy, Singh's appealing vocals and the duo's accessible songwriting provide the link between their two projects.... however, too many of these good ideas drag on for too long without progressing.

It might not make for a great listen, but its swagger and white-trash style make it the second-best record in his catalog.

A.R.E. Weapons comes across as partially put-together and all the way dumb -- not dumb meaning fun but dumb meaning dumb.

The compelling three-quarters of Definition of Real that seems to have crawled out of the gutter proves that Plies is best off when he does it the ski-mask way.

On Soft, Bodan is assisted by several producers, and while the backdrops range from light drum'n'bass to the kind of stark and lurching beats heard more commonly on labels like Tri Angle and Modern Love, the album isn't quite as scattered as the singles.

Lover Chanting--the band's first release for underground stalwarts Ninja Tune -- maintained the productivity with three new songs.

Goodbye is striking and rewarding in its own way; it just might take a little more time to sink into the murky new agey abyss.

Just as poetic, mysterious, and bewitching as Blonde Redhead's more baroque albums, Barragán is a quietly audacious set of songs that ranks among the band's finest music.

There's a bit more pure pop intention to be found on Voids, but it retains the left-field charm that made them one of the more captivating acts to watch amidst the alt-to-indie rock shift that dominated the late '90s and early 2000s.

While there are a few moments where Violet Cries' potent atmosphere turns meandering and atonal, this is still a promising and often captivating debut from a band with a bold sound.

As it stands, the album lives up to its name, offering a low-key but promising introduction to the duo's music.

Stills and Collins have a gentle, easy chemistry and the studio-slick supporting performances provide a nice bed for a project that is less nostalgia than a reassuring reminder of the comfort of growing old together.

This live CD shows all of her brilliance and promise, her command and vitality, and much of that is shown on the videos as well.

Maintaining momentum with ruggedly catchy pop tunes sticking out among the more spaced-out garage psych explorations, Ages takes its place in the storied Flying Nun lineage without sounding solely like a replica of previous chapters.

Despite its many head-bobbing moments, Danger in the Club feels more like two EPs--one that builds on 180's exuberance and one that explores new territory--than a consistent album.

Released two years after the international breakthrough hit Only by the Night, Come Around Sundown continues Kings of Leon's journey into the upper echelon of mainstream pop/rock, with super-sized choruses and guitar heroics thrown in for good measure.

If she feels marginally more connected here than she did on "Blackout," it's a Pyrrhic victory, as Circus never feels as sleek or addictive as its predecessor.

Though the record could use a few more high points, there are enough hooky songs and exciting performances to make it very promising.