This is music made with no audience in mind: it is strikingly personal, to the extent that it suggests that Carlton needs to get this soul-searching out of her system in order to move forward.

Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger's specialty as songwriters has always been turning a trope inside out, finding ways to freshen or invert convention, and while they haven't lost that knack, the directness of Sky Full of Holes turns their tunes into something approaching standard-issue.

Make a Scene still provides a couple of gems, but it's hard to shake the feeling that she's now milked the whole dance-pop ice-maiden schtick well and truly dry.

Once rumored to be a true Wu-Tang Clan release, Legendary Weapons arrived as another compilation of Wu whatnot, with affiliates and second-string producers running the show as core member GZA sits things out.

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.

There's a great and more conventional singer/songwriter album waiting to get out here, but The Lateness of the Hour appears to be more concerned with creating a bold statement of intent than in showcasing Clare's undeniable talents.

The rest of the record is filled with an invigorating amount of passion, noise, and power that impressively takes their roots and influences to a new place. Not bad for a debut album; it bodes very well for further endeavors.

The compilation was offered on CD in three-disc and one-disc sets. The latter is more like a sampler with no discernible method to the selection process, and those who take that option will miss out on the Clarke and Wilder mixes, as well as numerous highlights.

The crossover material leaves the album sounding a little stiff, and "No Tomorrow" seems manufactured to the point of feeling artificial, but if Attack! Attack! were aiming for commercially viable pop-punk, they hit the nail on the head with this one.

He has a true knack for rhyming about the dangers of the West Coast.

Rather than simply target kids of today, Barenaked Ladies have crafted a children's pop album inspired by their own '70s/'80s childhoods.

There are some great moments on Haven... but until Borth learns how to realize his vision, his albums are going to fall a little short.

"Lawns" provides an easygoing contrast in turn, keeping the general propulsion of the album going but feeling like an easy swing into a West Coast sunset instead of launching a rocket to the moon.

Chelsea Grin aren't pushing the boundaries of the genre into any bold new territories, but what they do deliver is a very solid collection of face-smashing songs that will provide plenty of fuel for the mosh pit carnage that's sure to arise after repeated listenings of My Damnation.

Eight cuts from the bookish indie rockers, including early favorites.

While the sound is by no means stale, it doesn't have the same edge that the band became known for during their heyday, at times feeling more like an extension of Hey Mercedes than a proper Braid release.

Buried beneath the relentless, grinding beats and wobbly bass tremors, Welcome Reality is home to a potentially great but unfinished sci-fi blockbuster soundtrack, but unable to sustain its early momentum, it ends up being merely a solid first offering rather than the trail-blazing spectacular that was anticipated.

It's hard not to wish Fool's Gold had figured out how to develop and expand their approach without compromising so much of what made their debut so delightfully unique.

Covering such a cherished and well-respected body of work is a brave move, and while Gilmore was always going to struggle to make these iconic songs her own, John Wesley Harding is a valiant attempt to respectfully add a slightly modern sheen to the 40-year-old record, which should silence any Dylan aficionados waiting to cry foul.

Pitched somewhere between synthed-up '80s mood-out and electronic-infused shoegaze, the Swedish duo I Break Horses may have a slightly off-kilter name, but Hearts is a fine, if often derivative, debut album, a classic instance of a band knowing who and what they love, but not to the point of making it their own.

Rather than being a simple throwback band, they add their own twist by way of a dark, vaguely ominous tone.

Muppets.... freshens up the franchise for the newish millennium, and Generation Z listeners will enjoy hearing current artists in this different context, but other listeners may be left reaching for their classic Muppets fare.

B-sides and rarities collections can often help give fans insight into their favorite artists' creative processes, or at the very least, provide either a light snack between releases or a post-retirement victory lap, but when an artist as prolific as Stephin Merritt decides to clean house, it can be a little underwhelming.

Even if it is not as original or wildly thrashin' as the first album, Post-Mortem is still a decent follow-up, especially considering that Black Tide are still only in their teens.

Without that soulful kind of anchor, Nothing But the Beat offers the same experience as one of Guetta's numerous remix sets, which is a compliment if you're a dancefloor and a caution if you're a pair of headphones.

13 doesn't really feel like one of the man's most inspired or immortality-bound efforts, but rather just another reminder of Wino's prolific consistency.

Seven Rainbows only really does justice to [Gold's] undeniable talents when it abandons its Woodstock-aping ambitions.

While the album certainly delivers on the darkness, it manages to keep from being too suffocating thanks to the band's bombastic power metal.