Turns out Odd Future benefits greatly from this duo anchoring their wild universe, as Purple Naked Ladies is one of the collective's more sensual and sensible releases to date.

Staind may not be much more than noise -- it's not especially hooky or melodic -- but the group wins points for unexpectedly delivering something visceral.

Ultimately, Partners works as guided tour down Streisand's memory lane, and with her resonant voice still in supple shape, any excuse to hear her sing is a welcome invitation.

A mature and workmanlike metal monster-piece.

The musical redefinitions taken on by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies seemed to be creatively suiting and for the listeners who take time to believe in it Soul Caddy will be impressively surprising.

The Black Magic Show is a decent move forward for Elefant. A little more sincerity and a little less swagger might have been nice though.

Sometimes, the group achieves a delicate balance between the two extremes--"It Was Always You," "New Love," and the aforementioned "Feelings"--but the best moments on V are when Maroon 5 embrace the tuneful, slightly soulful adult contemporary pop band they've always been.

Without clear-cut standouts, Operator is really a full-album listening experience. This may hinder casual fans--there's no "Bounce" or "Heartbreaker" here--but diehards and lovers of more challenging electronic music will appreciate the chaotic journey of Operator.

Once, or if, expectations related to personnel are set aside, there are some meaty post-punk tunes among an uneven selection on Science Agrees.

Brain Holiday may not be reinventing anything, and Furlow could stand to take a break from his '90s worship, but the album does sound amazing and anyone who likes their guitars loud and melodies strong will find Brain Holiday something well worth digging into.

A Dramatic Turn of Events, while not a perfect offering, has enough of what makes Dream Theater attractive to make it a necessary purchase for fans.

The quartet sound more cohesive than they've been in years, benefitting from a single producer's vision in a similar fashion to what Brian Eno pulled off with Viva La Vida.

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.

Mainstream Sellout feels mostly like a middling attempt to further cross over into pop-punk, this time lighter on ideas and cohesion.

It's appropriate imagery: Mount Ninji is a hedonistic party in a trash heap.

Conceptually muddled, qualitatively uneven fifth full-length.

"Tell Me It's Over" sways with echoes of a '50s slow dance, "Crush" is so light it floats into the stratosphere, and "Bigger Wow" swells with strings reminiscent of vintage Vanessa Carlton. Such moments provide a needed contrast to the motivational ones while also connecting to Lavigne's bubblegum roots, a move that makes the overall maturation of the album feel earned.

The lack of musical and emotional evolution doesn't necessarily hamper Born Here Live Here Die Here -- it was designed as slick entertainment and that's exactly what it is -- but it does suggest Bryan may be playing with some borrowed time.

Mary's revelatory, palpable desire and seemingly newfound strength permeate all of The Brink, leaving you with an impression of the Jezabels as a band that's (in spirit) one part singer/songwriter, one part stadium rock god, and, ultimately, all woman.

Starr remains fond of late-period Beatles, goosed with a bit of arena rock volume, and since he's working with a group of well-seasoned pros, this guitar pop is all well crafted and amiable.

Some may call that predictable, some may call it reliable, but there's little arguing that Afterglow is a solid effort -- it won't win new fans, but it will certainly satisfy the old ones.

It's an old-fashioned record, feeling as if it was nearly 30 years old, even when it's informed by relatively recent funk, rock and jam bands.

While it's not exactly equal to any of his catalog classics (i.e. everything up to Yeezus or Pablo, depending on where you draw the line), that old Kanye -- the masterful producer with revolutionary ideas and endlessly quotable bars -- is still in there, somewhere. .... Objectively, Bully could be considered a great late-era Kanye West album.

All in all, Forgiven proves that Los Lonely Boys are around for the long haul, making records that separate their sound from their influences, and further establishes their identity as one of America's premier roots bands.

As David St. Hubbins said, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever," and Saenz's locker-room humor wears thin quickly. Even cameos from Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Nelson's Matt Nelson, the Donnas' Allison Robertson and Brett Anderson, and the Darkness' frontman Justin Hawkins can't keep the same dick joke interesting for 40 minutes straight.

With the high-gloss Flo Rida, less is more, meaning this eight-tracker is entirely right-sized.

With worthy singles "Body Language," "Hotel," and "Be Real" added to the mix, there's much more fire than fodder here, enough to satisfy returning fans along with party people of all flavors.

Even all these big-name friends can't save WHAM from mediocrity, though. Lil Baby's flows, presentation, and beat selection are all laughably generic, to the point that any lyrical cleverness or hint of interesting perspectives he might have get washed away in the flood of less-than-memorable sounds.