It might not be as hip as it thinks it is, nor is it as catchy as it should be, but it's smooth and listenable.

It's an enjoyable record, but it's hard to escape the nagging feeling that Garbage has painted itself into a corner: they haven't found a way to expand their sound, to make it richer or mature -- they can only deliver more of the same.

Sunlandic Twins is an album to leave playing while you're going about your daily business. Then see how quickly you discover its 13 tracks burrowing so deeply into your skull that it's as though you'd lived with its jerking, burbling, and never less than transcendental swirlings for ever.

It's her fierce nature -- whether saucy and confident or just plain wrecked -- that makes every twist and turn of this impressive debut so easy to fall in love with.

[A] fine collection of city-weary poetry.

Ultimately Mudvayne gets lost between thrash and diluted Slipknot devotion.

D.U.M.E.'s witchy, heavily eyelinered approach may appeal more to fans of bands like Numbers or Ersatz Audio's own Tamion 12 Inch than admirers of Adult.'s normally sleek, distant neo-electro, but the harsh, nervous allure of tracks like "Don't Talk (Redux)" and "Hold Your Breath" is undeniable.

Fans of Radiohead's more melancholic moments on Pablo Honey and Keane's chart singles should enjoy the bliss that is Let There Be Morning.

Elkington has crafted an uplifting, despondent, and always atmospheric collection of elegant indie rock that never takes itself too seriously.

This album feels alive and breathes honesty.

From the songwriting to the production to the performance, the whole package that the Books present with Lost and Safe works wonderfully and makes for a very rewarding listen.

Odyssey makes their transition from flag-waving fashionistas to serious, rewarding band smooth and entirely believable.

While it's far from being truly bad, Elevator is a disappointment, and a perplexing one: everything seems to be more or less in the right place, but still doesn't quite fit together.

On My Way to Absence offers many new areas of musical exploration, suggesting a more mature arranger.

There's less brooding menace and more giddy insanity -- without ever giving way to total chaos.

A record of quiet fire, fueled by an electric/acoustic guitar dynamic and the determined waver in Molina's vocals, which have strengthened considerably since Songs: Ohia.

The First Lady is terrifically balanced in its distribution of club tracks, midtempo grooves, and slow jams.

While it's undeniably polished, it's a bit too dark, a bit too quirky, and a bit too individualistic to be part of the mainstream, while being too slick and professional to be on the fringe, but the album is all the more ingratiating for being caught between two worlds.

Okkervil River continue to deliver the quality of Down the River of Golden Dreams, and though sonic evolution is barely existent from that recording, perhaps it doesn't need to be; certainly Sheff's songwriting still floats above that of his peers.

Warmer Corners is like most Lucksmiths records; it's meant to be swallowed whole, and in an age of singles with albums attached to them, it's both refreshing and nostalgic at the same time.

A thoroughly enjoyable LP that sounds warm and familiar upon the first play and gets stronger with each spin.

Some of the playful songs are as joyously boisterous and willfully corny as anything in Smith's past, making Lost and Found an entertaining and thoughtful album for young kids and their parents to listen to and talk about.

The punk-inspired spark that made their 1997 debut, Word Gets Around, so impressive is rekindled.

The Bravery isn't sonically mind-blowing, but the new millennium new wave revival remains intriguing.

If hip-hop had existed in the days of the Filmore, Woodstock and the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Edan would have been right on the bus.

Those looking for a direct story of how Beanie earned three years in the clink will be somewhat disappointed, but these chunks of insight into the man's turmoil -- and the couple party tunes that go with them -- add up to one hell of an album.

The mix of the old, the new, and the unexpected... makes Live at Earls Court one of the most successful albums of Morrissey's career.

While they offer few surprises on Hyperactive, they also offer no embarassments, and it's likely that any fan still faithfully buying records nearly a decade after Moseley Shoals will enjoy this record.