Yo La Tengo's instrumentals work best as interludes and intriguing sidetracks on their full-length albums. On Danelectro, the instrumentals are brought out of this context, and are not as successful.

An album that is just a little too familiar, even if it's classy and well-produced and spiked with a couple of new tunes that hold their own with the holdovers.

While there are some fascinating passages on "Souvenir in Chicago," including sections inspired by a shared love of the minimalism of Steve Reich, the piece never quite becomes a coherent work.

It's distinctly focused with an urban appeal while rooted in rock, and a bit comparable to the likes of Poe, Fiona Apple, and Beth Orton.

France's Tahiti 80 seem so enamoured with their musical idols that they can barely voice a personal touch of their own.

The melodies are there, but they sure aren't catchy pop.

Unfortunately, Fear Yourself's intricate, careful sound results in a rather bland album.

Ironically, the fact that there are so many vocals really saves Mind Elevation from being the first bland record by Nightmares on Wax; as it is, there's something to focus on for those few tracks where the old production genius just doesn't seem to be there anymore.

Many songs on Learning From Falling have that vaguely edgy, vaguely happy, vaguely cutesy sound often heard piping from the speakers at Wal-Mart, and soon it becomes clear she's making the same vocal choices on song after song.

This album will have to remain the a mark of a band's crazy potential and perhaps a warning siren of what is to come.

Highlights include an 18-minute version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" and a duet with the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde on Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."

Selling Live Water follows the Anticon party line (double-timed, singsongy half-sensical ramblings countering slow, lumbering beats) through to conscious hip-hop's most logical dead end.

The first six tracks are all vintage Louris gems -- trembling and honest, with warm melodies and hooks for days. Unfortunately, the album stumbles in the second half.

Signals the welcome return of one of pop's finest groups.

The only drawback to Beautiful is that it's often too reminiscent of Stereolab, the pop art pastiche of Pizzicato Five, and Tanaka's own 1999 release, Luxury.

While some listeners will welcome this growth and expansion of sound, longtime fans will doubtless lament the lack of pure intimacy and calm melancholy that enveloped Spain’s first and second albums.

The group tries so hard to be clever and cutting-edge that it detracts from the album's strengths.

Combines instantly accessible power pop, synth-pop, glam, grunge, and Brit-pop influences with the resulting songs fitting together so seamlessly to be somewhat indecipherable from each other.

If you can get past the clothespin-on-nose delivery... and the constant up-and-down swoops and dives in which it's delivered, the album has a certain sense of awkward, ramshackle charm that's frequently unhinged and claustrophobic at once.

No hooks, no lyrical drama, no surprises, nothing at all inside the pretty package.

Cycle is ultimately no more than 50 minutes of standard-issue desolation, but the softness of many of the tracks gives it compassion, something most of Staind's peers have no time for.

Even with a handful of forgettable songs... the album is easily the best one credited to the Duran Duran name since 1993's Wedding Album.

Unlike his previous two releases, Wainwright's musings seem less focused and a little meandering on a handful of the songs.

As contrived and calculated as a Mariah Carey record, only without the joy.

The whole album feels a little too slick and reverbed-out... While there are intriguing moments in the album, it lacks the spark that So Long So Wrong had in spades, and even their few moments on the O Brother soundtrack seemed to breathe more life into the band than New Favorite does.

Train is a classic rock wannabe band in the mold of Counting Crows.

It's not that the music is now simplistic, since there's still some tricky rhythms and shifts in tone, but the group doesn't have much room to stretch in Ballard's precise arrangements. In a sense, they sort of benefit from this increased focus, since the group's instrumental excursions can be a little flabby, but it still robs them of much of their character.

Though its heart is eventually lost amidst the guiding elements of the genre, the Used's In Love and Death does make some impressive moves away from those very same tenets, showing some welcome restraint and even some rocktastic energy.