With an unlikely rock blend of classicism and narrative, British Sea Power has composed a brilliant album that's nearly perfect. It's not exactly pop, but it might as well be.

Byrne leaves behind all the international rhythms that have dominated his solo work and turned in an album of moody, subtle beauty.... This is one of the strongest albums of his solo career.

In all, My Morning Jacket may be a journey through the past, but it's also a solid step into something rock & roll has been missing for an awfully long time in the mainstream arena: melody, extremely catchy and well-written songs that aren't afraid of the mainstream, and a love of the great pop continuum that translates into something new.

As promising as it is inconsistent, Hocus Pocus may not be Enon's strongest album, but it's still a fairly interesting one.

Amazing Grace is far from a bad album, but it's not an especially compelling one, either.

Even though Her Majesty isn't quite as striking and full-formed as Castaways and Cutouts, it's still a consistently charming album that finds the band coming into its own.

A switch in approach and sound definitely worked for them, and fans shouldn't be put off by Beulah's toughened confidence.

Far from being an angry album, Show Me Your Tears is filled with the kind of conscious joy that comes from working through your problems.

A solid rock effort.

Andrew W.K.'s debut found meaning in partying, but The Wolf sounds like a party about finding some meaning in life.

Put Pretty Girls Make Graves on the short list of bands that matter and make sure you get this record.

It's possible that The Meadowlands might be a "better" album if it were more focused and logical, but there's something to be said for its immersive, stream-of-consciousness approach.

An added bonus for Orton loyalists.

A greater combination of accessibility and subversion would be nearly impossible to imagine.

Sure, it's more interesting than the still-born, awkward second Black Grape album Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, largely thanks to its intricate, layered production, but the end result is calculated without reaping the rewards of its precision.

More gutsy, more aggressive, and more dynamic than B.R.M.C.

It's hard to shake the feeling that the National is highly influenced by and studied in the bands it emulates, but the album is still worth a listen for fans of moody country-tinged lounge music.

The Chain Gang of Love is far more glossy and layered in melodies compared to Whip It On's gray-colored coolness.

If you say you've heard a better adult pop record this year, you are lying.

More New Order and Saint Etienne than Smiths, and with male and female vocals, the band comes across as an electro-pop Belle and Sebastian.

Musically, Reconstruction Site has more in common with literate indie types like Clem Snide or even the mature, clear-eyed work of Michael Penn.

The album's stripped-down sound and approach may leave the listener wishing the band had found a little space for some flashy chords or glitzy orchestration to break things up a bit. Still, it is hard to argue with an album as pure and true as this.

At least half a dozen cuts will vie for slots on a future best-of.

The Wind feels less like a grand final statement of Warren Zevon's career than one last walk around the field, with the star nodding to his pals, offering a last look at what he does best, and quietly but firmly leaving listeners convinced that he exits the game with no shame and no regrets.

Fortunately they never swap their emphasis on some serious crunk-drawling for rap music's usual curb-sitting; in fact, the group expand their purview to look lovingly at lower-class life from several viewpoints.

Anyone with an Adult. or Add N to (X) album, or even Berlin's Pleasure Victim, know it's been done better.

For most of Bazooka!!!, the Star Spangles sound like a rowdy bar band just playing a set of songs they love.

If you know Rancid and love Rancid, you will love this record like an old friend.