Oceans Will Rise is a return to form for the Stills, who've earned their merit as an experimental group with a strong knack for pop/rock hooks.

While Coverage isn't always successful, it is always admirable and likeable, and certainly puts Moore on the right path for an interesting, successful career.

D.U.M.E.'s witchy, heavily eyelinered approach may appeal more to fans of bands like Numbers or Ersatz Audio's own Tamion 12 Inch than admirers of Adult.'s normally sleek, distant neo-electro, but the harsh, nervous allure of tracks like "Don't Talk (Redux)" and "Hold Your Breath" is undeniable.

Both 'Stone in My Hand' and 'Weakness' are redemption anthems that will satisfy sinners looking to be saints. They are the target audience and--along with the Everlast faithful--the ones who will find this heavy, rap-free album rich and rewarding instead of desolate and ponderous.

Maestro never sounds the least bit unfocused. Being eclectic comes naturally to Mahal, who sees to it that Maestro is a consistently engaging celebration of his 40th year as a recording artist.

It's an experience, to say the least. At the same time, The Great Misdirect is the type of overblown record that asks the question, "Is there such thing as being too ambitious?"

Be Set Free isn't a game-changing album so much as it confirms that Langhorne Slim's talent can work within a wider framework than he's used in the past and still honor his gifts, and it's an impressive, pleasurable work.

At 13 tracks the album feels right-sized, not overstuffed, and Banks himself is in fine form throughout, delivering stone cold and slow punch lines that are as lethal as ever. When it comes to evolution, there's really none, but even though he's been here before, veteran fans will appreciate his return.

While the Summer Set shed some of their emo-pop roots for Everything's Fine, the growth as songwriters and performers as well as potential for wider recognition shown on their sophomore effort is a worthy exchange.

Songs are built with obvious hooks and structure, and are lyrically intimate, keeping them in line with the slick electro flavor and emo sentiments of Miike Snow and VHS or Beta.

While some of Red Night's songs might still be a little too insular for their own good, the album still finds the Hundred in the Hands coming into their own and expanding their identity at the same time.

Our Nature is too long and just not unique enough to really stand out among all the artists treading similar ground.

This is a step forward from the MC's previous effort, but it's been six years since the he has made an album that must be heard.

Wretched & Divine is a solid album of neo-hard rock that might just be the thing your inner Crüe fan has been looking for..

At times, Letherette gives the impression of being on the fringes of a big party, moving in and out of the action as the mood strikes--and it's this mood, sophisticated but not overly mannered, that makes the album so listenable.

The great production of the album and its grab bag of above-average musical ideas are ultimately lost to the overarching disingenuous feel of Boats and the strain their various affectations put on the songs.

PDA sets up a dreamily weird and heartfelt mood from the beginning and drives it deeper into the listener's consciousness with each song that follows.

There may not be anything challenging here, but even though the lyrics are abstract ("Why don't you call the cops/Wild eyes, you don't have to be good") and the song titles can be misleading ("Harrison Ford"), at the core these are just love songs, and sometimes love is best kept uncomplicated.

Exquisite stuff and not so far off the trip-hop universe that it sounds alien, but those wishing for revivalist music or a nostalgia trip back to the days of chillout rooms could be thrown by the album's forward-thinking and genre-expanding moments.

Out of the box, the Melodic don't sound much like anyone else in British pop, and their individuality, imagination, and vision already make them something special.

Perhaps Grande doesn't embody the songs the way an old-fashioned diva would, but she functions as a likeable pop ringleader, stepping aside when the track calls for it and then unleashing a full-throated wail when it's her time to shine.

Some of the styles are undeniably tacky but, hey, bad taste is part of Idol's legacy and Kings & Queens of the Underground touches upon that garishness along with his exaggerated swagger, fondness for hooks, and an irascible snarl, and that makes it an autobiography even if it never tells a story.

Beck isn't so much interested in resurrecting specific songs from his career as he is in revisiting particular styles and moods

While disjointed in a way that plays like a perhaps-too-extensive portfolio rather than something intended to be an album, the set reveals a bold and versatile songwriter as well as a performer and engineer.

On Nightstand, she almost splits the difference, softening her tone but not abandoning the crunchy effervescence of prior albums.

Generation Rx can feel a little bit deliberate: it may be little more than half an hour but it feels a bit longer, because the tempos are moderate and the melodies studiously avoid effervescence. All the same, Generation Rx winds up showing a way forward for Good Charlotte.

This trio kicked this out in a burst of powerful inspiration, and if this had been pressed up as a 45 in 1979, one of these tracks would probably ended up on a Killed By Death compilation by now. The C.I.A. is good noisy, cranky fun from folks who know how.

There are great moments here, particularly a spare, powerful reworking of Talking Heads' "Listening Wind," and the participants never sound less than sincere, but coming from a band whose heritage includes "Ghost Town," "Doesn't Make It Alright," and "It's Up To You," Protest Songs 1924-2012 never quite reaches its potential.