Simian Mobile Disco's debut is a dance record that shows a surprising amount of subtlety and flair.

It's a bleak album to be sure, undoubtedly inspired by the downtrodden national mood of the times in which it was recorded. Ann's voice is strong and convincing on these tunes, largely drawn from the '60s and '70s with a few exceptions.

Just Who I Am just manages from sinking into adult contemporary murk, even if it's hard to shake the feeling that Chesney is spending too much time acting how his audience expects him to be instead of just being who he is.

The songs on Help Wanted Nights are all solid, simple, yet melodic, about running away from home and trying to find home and breaking up, but nothing really stands out.

Pinback don't disappoint with their fourth record, Autumn of the Seraphs.

Vocalist/guitarist Emma Pollock has crafted one the group's [the Delgados] finest efforts to date, albeit as a solo artist.

Our Ill Wills is an impressive, depressive album that could scare away all but their hardiest fans in one 48-minute swoop.

Good Bad Not Evil isn't a major leap forward for the Black Lips, but it shows their sound is slowly but surely evolving, and they still rock with a nasty enthusiasm that's bold and compelling; this is quality stuff for your next black light party.

Civilians has as many stories attached as any record Henry's written, but they're so finely crafted now that the singer almost disappears in their flickering appearances on the wall of the mind of the listener.

On North Star Deserter, the musicians working with Vic Chesnutt serve as collaborators rather than simple accompanists, and they've truly brought out the best in one another; this is powerful, adventurous music that's as challenging as it is beautiful, and ranks with Chesnutt's finest work to date.

Harris doesn't need to sing--his electronic noises from the keyboard are quite sufficient.

The whole album is a barn rattler from top to bottom. Play this for anyone who thinks rock & roll is dead and gone. Heavy Trash again prove that theory dead wrong.

Play It as It Lays is, without doubt, the record where Scialfa gives us the full fruit of her exceptional gift as a writer, a singer, as an artist.

Liars wanders wherever it wants to, touching on noise, prog, hard rock, punk, industrial and other styles the band has flirted with in the past, as well as a few uncharted ones.... In a lesser band's hands, this kaleidoscopic approach could be a muddled mess, but it makes for Liars' most entertaining album yet.

The talent, both of Rock and his guests (which, besides El-P, also include Ron Sonic, John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats, Breezly Brewin', and Cage) is impressive, and makes None Shall Pass an album that deserves a lot of attention, both inside and outside the hip-hop world.

A fascinating musical ride that defies any attempt at categorization.

Scatterbrained as Can I Keep This Pen? is, it would have fit perfectly in the catalog of the deceased Grand Royal, but somehow seems appropriate landing in Ipecac's strange and wonderfully eclectic lap.

Whether or not you prefer the rowdier version of Harper and his band, it is inarguable that this recording is a concentrated effort coming down on the side of a couple of musical notions that weave together artfully and meaningfully.

Even in this mellowed state, Gira's still never going to be a majority taste, but Angels of Light come up with a thoroughly respectable and diversely arranged vehicles for his vision on We Are Him, traipsing through an array of interesting moods without diluting the leader's offbeat visions.

Panic Prevention isn't much better than its best three or four songs, and it's due to Jamie T.'s stubborn insistence on being understood only by himself, or perhaps a precious few in his coterie.

There are a couple of standouts here--'Like It or Not' could be a cross between 'It'5!' and the Cure's bizarrely cheerful moments, while 'Nothing's Wrong' shows what the rest of the album should've sounded like--but most of Places Like This is a mystifying misfire.

Kala nearly makes "Arular" seem tame in comparison, magnifying most of its predecessor's qualities as it remains bracingly adventurous.

Challengers is their biggest grower yet, a dense collection of carefully constructed pop and brain power pop.

The rest of Under the Blacklight feels like the Jenny Lewis show and even if this album doesn't push Rilo Kiley to the top, it's hard to deny that it feels like the launching pad for her ascent into true stardom.

Andorra may be a bedroom record, but it certainly doesn't sound like a bedroom record; it has the energy and intensity of group participation, and that makes it Snaith's best yet.

At 20 tracks and nearly 80 minutes, Eardrum is both too much and too little, never quite understanding exactly what it needs to be.

Though the album has its fair share of songs that sound like stylish, smart, but lulling background music on first listen, The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band reveals its catchiness gradually.

Like the best divorce albums, it offers sadness, pathos, and the electric thrill of great music forged in the crucible of pain.