His hardcore following will no doubt celebrate it abundantly. Given its willful indulgence, however, others may find it a tipping point in the other direction.

Given the dominance of slow material, the album is a bit stifling; Glover loosens up a little for only "In the Middle," co-written by Fantasia Barrino with a touch of "Ting-a-Ling," yet even that has some heartache.

Skaters' knack for writing infectious melodies often offsets their enthusiasm, so although Manhattan is an uneven record, its bright spots still have capacity to shine like Times Square.

The album does tend to be more engaging than stifling, as well as a little more graceful, than previous releases from patten.

As a whole, Like It Never Happened benefits from its lower-budget production. It is, if anything, more imaginative than her previous albums.

Call it a wobbly when it comes to quality, or a showcase for the young that's stolen by the old, but it's best to consider it a simple roster-promoting label compilation that just happens to come with an EP or so worth of fire.

Taken as a musical statement, Sisyphus works fairly well at times, but it's the kind of collaboration no one asked for and much like their mythological Greek king namesake, getting all three artists' styles to gel is a bit like pushing a boulder eternally up a hill.

Michael is in good form but he's coasting, doing no more than he needs to, satisfying fans without surprising.

There's a bit more maturity and personality to some of these tracks that speaks of a band coming into its own. Still, for fans of their first two releases, Weird Kids provides plenty of the snarky sendoffs and he-said/she-said breakup rockers that drew people to the band in the first place.

Though Sex and Love tries hard to walk the tightrope between the personas displayed on Iglesias' two previous outings, he leans more to the club side here. Your feelings about the album will depend on which side of the divide you lean toward.

This already busy album becomes even busier with so many cooks in the kitchen, and shoots off nonstop fireworks as if this was Skrillex's audio variety special, sponsored by the wing of the stereo industry that sells, re-cones, or fixes subwoofers.

Imperfections aside, this is a strange, oddly compelling addition to his catalog.

There's a refreshing, devil-may-care cavalier attitude to Education, Education, Education & War that eradicates much of the desperation that was beginning to creep in after 2007's Yours Truly, Angry Mob, but it still doesn't change the fact that you've heard it all before.

Once again, Band of Skulls have proven that they have the chops and the moxie, but they still need more than a handful of memorable songs to seal the deal.

About Last Night shows that Sleeper Agent have diversity and ideas to spare, but the album's more mainstream approach regrettably removes much of their bite.

As it stands, it's a hard album to get your head around and it's a hard album to fully embrace.

It may not deliver a knockout punch but it's not intended to be powerful; it's a grower, sounding better with repeated exposure, repeated listens revealing the craft in the songs and the subtlety in Nail's execution.

The final product is intelligent and often fascinating, but it doesn't deliver like the Afghan Whigs do at their best, and ultimately comes off as a brave but somewhat unsatisfying experiment.

Amphetamine Ballads is a debut that shows real promise, but if this band really wants to put the fear into the world, the first step on their reign of terror should be to hire a rhythm guitarist.

Taken in as an album and Azalea's constant "bow down" attitude makes this a cuckoldish experience, so think "some will pay for what others pay to avoid" and approach accordingly.

Arguably, it fares better as a decent Frank Black album than an anticlimactic Pixies album, and fans who can appreciate that these songs don't diminish the legacy of the band's previous music will probably enjoy it the most.

Although this by no means makes the album unpleasant to listen to, it's more likely to have you reaching for some of the classic albums of decades past than giving it a second spin.

Not easily understood as dance music, experimental music, or rock music, Enclosure considers, rejects, and reconsiders all of them on a second-to-second basis and stands as one of the more listenable of Frusciante's ever-obtuse solo albums.

Rowe seems even more like an instrument rather than a lead voice, but it's all comforting, if not revealing, made more for background or late-night listening than complete emotional immersion.

There is much to like about Green's music, but if Haul Away! is indeed part of a potential trilogy, let's hope the songwriting on her third offering outweighs its stylish ambitions.

Tuning out the conceptual aspect is close to impossible, but there are some moments--as in the hypnotic "Shanghai Freeway"--that can be enjoyed on a purely musical level.

Without the energy and the sonic thrills, they are just another pop band making music that's little more than a momentarily pleasant diversion.

There's a consistency to the EP that can get lost when a band is trying to work their way toward a longer running time, so although fans might not be getting a big a dose of new Down material as they might crave, they're certainly reaping the benefits of quality over quantity.