This all flows well and is quite a good piece of mood music, yet there's no hiding that for all their political stances and past reputation, Cornershop doesn't really have all that much to say this time around, nor have they delivered more than a handful of songs to have all this stick.

The band's brash and passionate attitude is clearly defined and witnessed in the music of this indie release, keeping the best of indie post-rock alive and kicking.

On their stunning debut, the Richmond, VA, foursome can sound as crisp and ethereal as Portishead, as otherworldly as Tom Waits, and as atmospheric as Radiohead.

He's no Elliott Smith yet, but if he expands his songwriting and subject matter, he could be a future heir to the indie-wuss throne.

Armstrong layers on his string arrangements with alarming regularity, to the extent that each collaborator, other than Bono, has their contributions infringed upon or washed out.

A skillful synthesis of classic rock and modern sensibilities that's pretty irresistible.

If any one album can be said to pick up on the surreal funk explorations of latter-day Miles Davis, Uninvisible is it.

Instead of sounding like a refreshing change of pace, it's a muddled, aimless affair from an artist that's had too many middling efforts over the last decade.

Silver Lining is ultimately a showcase for exceptional singing and riveting backup work.

Imperial Teen is clearly evolving into a group of subtler, more nuanced songwriters.

A good, professional rock record, one that sells their sound as if it was as the most commercial imaginable, resulting in one of their most consistent albums.

Another 12 tracks of curiously beautiful but quite intense melancholy.

Like a long lost Fluid disc, Electric Sweat proffers primordial MC5 riffs with a healthy dose of soul as only four white guys in leather jackets with every Motown record in their collections could manage.

They're fresh and clean, delivering spiky cut riffs while lyrics are unpretentious about love and heartbreak.

An undeniably pleasant and ultimately rewarding, if not immediately accessible, listen.

It all blends together a little bit too much to be distinctive and, as such, it has a faint feel of product, a slow seduction record for the Timbaland-worshipping hipster set.

This is international music, not intended merely for Kinky's native Mexico. Actually, it's more intended for trendy music cultures such as those of Europe and the U.S. -- a sort of Spanish update for the early 2000s of the late-'90s electronica/rock sound associated with groups like Prodigy and Primal Scream.

Refreshingly simple and cleverly stupid, I Get Wet makes indoctrination fun again.

Though Variaciones Espectrales might be too noisy to work as background music for some listeners and too experimental for the dancefloor, it's another accomplished, fascinating slice of sound/beats exploration from this consistently pioneering artist.

Throughout this collection, Rye Coalition shamlessly worships at the altar of Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad, and Spinal Tap via weathered, punk-inspired chord progressions, muddy bass lines, lead-footed drum patterns, and hammer-handed guitar riffs that will shake, rattle, and roll hockey arenas until the end of time.

It's sporadically entertaining and intermittently interesting.

So, in a strange way, Loud is an extremely successful album for Maas: it rids him of the trance tag, has enough vocal dance-pop to win over even more admirers, and is so diverse that everyone will find at least one enjoyable track.

This French-Swiss duo pumps out retro-'80s-style disco beats and silly lyrics, creating a fun, goofy, ironic vibe that is sure to be a hit in Europe and perhaps in America.

This is the first SFA album not to progress from its predecessor, or offer the shock of the new, and that's hard not to miss -- but, if this is the first SFA record you hear, it'll likely intrigue, even dazzle, with its kaleidoscopic blend of pop, prog, punk, psych and electronica.

Sounds fresher than anything the group has attempted in a long time.

Colossal and cinematic, the fourth record from the Herbaliser is a timely achievement in music, a genre-bending statement of creative poignancy.

Departure Lounge has forged an enchanting record to tune in, turn on, and drop into.

As with the band's previous albums, Souljacker bristles with pop euphoria and cracking production... but just like those previous albums, Souljacker ultimately falls a bit flat over the course of its extended running time.