A new Social D album is always welcome, even if Ness' advance age is showing now more than ever. [Feb 2011, p.90]

Outside has a knack for taking these slow-building verses toward delayed rewards--by the time you reach the marrow of a tune, it's already the best Tapes 'N Tapes song you've ever heard. [Feb 2011, p.90]

Red Barked Tree is something of a letdown, oddly placid and even soothing. [Feb 2011, p.90]

When they do attempt to play things straight, it hits the mark with impressive accuracy, commanding your attention--and a few of your most limber-limbed dance moves. [Feb 2011, p.87]

It's an alarmingly great album in most ways superior to their ballyhooed debut. [Feb 2011, p.86]

Their fifth full-length Showroom Of Compassion shows Cake's key ingredients surviving their 20-year career unscathed. [Feb 2011, p.86]

The songs on The King Is Dead don't collapse under the weight of their lite-FM armor; conversely, they endure in spite of it. One way or another, the Decemberists write good songs, regardless of how they're gift-wrapped.

On this disc, which collects tracks from three limited-edition singles and adds a few bonus cuts, the group shows their range even more effectively through carefully (and wisely) chosen covers.

Seventeen years and eight albums into their career; The Grand Theatre Volume One is a welcomed second wind.

The real enjoyment of any Girl Talk album stems from picking out the first hint of a song, mentally scanning your iTunes and figuring out what it is in time to fully enjoy it before it's gone. Or, you could also just stop thinking and enjoy all of it.

III/IV is the director's cut of a moment in Ryan Adams' all-too-prolific career. It adds dimension in some areas, but may be too much information for causal fans of the singer/songwriter.

MC Rut are riveting, the rawness and intensity of their performance drenched in the pints of sweat they undoubtedly shed at every show.[Nov 2010, p.116]

Matt and Kim deserve albums that sound clean and ambitious, but in all of Sidewalk's studio processing, their endearing personalities--decidedly brash, raw and awesome--unfortunately aren't well-represented. [Jan 2011, p.93]

Instead of building on their strengths, frontman Jaz Coleman & Co. have backslid into subdued sogginess of the band's mid-period. [Jan 2010, p.91]

Though a giant-sized step in the right direction, Younger is not without its growing pains. [Jan 2011, p.92]

While the tracks are theoretically similar to the atmospheric vistas of other instrumental units, Jesu's melancholy--accidental or implied--offers a truly unique experience that deserves much more than background-listening status. [Dec 2010, p.114]

Anyone with an appreciation for smartass MCs and a little of Fender-tapping would do well to give TSOL a spin. [Nov 2010, p.116]

From the snarling romp of "USA" to the loping crawl of "new Low" or the rockabilly-tinged stomp of "Alive Or Dead", MC Rut are riveting, the rawness of their performance drenched in the pints of sweat they undoubtedly shed at every show. [Nov 2010, p.116]

The real strength of The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten is the album's inherent variance--and the fact that droning waltzes like "Days Of Wrath" are able to seamlessly co-exist with ambient experiments like "The Threshold" make the album sound like a complete musical statement instead of a genre exercise.

Where the Postelles excel over Hammond's band is in how sublimely relaxed they sound.

While much of contemporary music fixates on flash and bang, it's refreshing to hear emphasis on what the singer is saying. With a lyricist this gifted, that more than suffices.

Choosing to keep the songs dark and dreary bogs down Mini Mansions. That criticism aside, the band know how to craft a song, letting it build and drop when necessary. [Dec 2010, p.114]

How they were able to construct an entire multi-layered universe (sonically, lyrically and with narration!) for listeners to get lost in-while writing some of the strongest and catchiest songs of their career-is anyone's guess. For the cookie-cutter bands and haters out there, that's what we call sweet revenge.

Chalk a point in the "win" column for the old school. [Dec 2010, p.116]

O (Disambiguation) is the first Underoath album in years that you'll walk away humming--even as you pick shrapnel out of your ears. [Dec 2010, p.118]

Orchestral additions are cool, but here they dominate both in terms of volume and notes-per-minute, transforming potentially aristocratic black metal like "The Cult Of Venus Aversa" and "War" into poorly layered sonic slop. [Dec 2100, p.111]

On Small Craft, the 62-year-old Eno has provided both sonic career overview, as well as an engaging experience for listeners wanting something both familiar and new. [Dec 2010, p.111]

Good Charlotte are multi-platinum scene superstars, but Cardiology might just be their best effort yet. [Nov 2010, p.112

This is strictly a headphone listen--or, more likely, non-listen. [Nov 2010, p.108]

There's not a ton of new ground broken, but The Fire is proof that Senses Fail consistently toe the line between singing and screaming better than most of their peers. [Nov 2010, p.116]

Face Tat demands remarkable attention from its listeners; if only Hill would have challenged himself as much during its creation. [Nov 2010, p.112]

Their last release, Meanderthal, was one of the finest records of 2008, and the eight-track Songs For Singles makes a glorious follow-up. [Oct 2010, p.116]

Of these five tracks, only closer "Thrown Right At Me" is underwhelming, plain where it compatriots are--much like the great plains themselves--full of hidden idiosyncrasies despite outwardly appearing flat and one-dimensional.

Anyone wishing to reminisce about the golden age that was the third wave of ska-punk will find plenty to like, though, as by its very nature, TV/EP sounds like something straight outta '97.

There's something for everyone on Photographing Snowflakes, and Gough's on the right path for a terrific trilogy. [Nov 2010, p.109]

Envy have been around for nearly 20 years, so calling them the Japanese Sigur Ros feels like cheap shorthand--and yet, Recitation operates on that same plateau, its scale just as majestic. [Nov 2010, p.112]

Most of the songs are brutal, chugga-chugga workouts, with Phil Labonte barking like a roid-raging Masshole spoiling for a fight while the band riffs away behind him. [Nov 2010, p.108]

When she and bandmates Sara Lund and Seth Lorinczi kick into distorted overdrive on searing tracks like "Pulling Pieces" and "Doubt," it only makes Tucker's return more welcome. [Nov 2010, p.116]

It's an album's worth of lamentation for accidentally getting older, and it's one of Kasher's most affecting albums to date. [Nov 2010, p.114]

There Is A Hell is an impressive and ambitious third effort that proves these Brits have staying power. [Nov 2010, p.109]

Aside from a few dud lyrics--rhyming "ointment" with "appointment"--Wreckorder is a worthy debut. [Nov 2010, p.112]

Deerhunter have long proved themselves to be one of the most inventive bands around and the most deserving of the boatloads of hype and bandwidth that has been devoted to their work. Halcyon Digest solidifies that notion even as they sound like they are evaporating into the ether.

Yorn continues to embrace a simplistic sensibility, allowing his voice and some rollicking rock riffs to carry most of the tracks on Pete Yorn. [Oct 2010, p.120]

In Many ways, No Age have successfully distilled the pop essence of early-90s Sonic Youth: no mean feat, just not as memorable as last time. [Oct 2010, p.116]

The band focuses on their strengths while proving they're still evolving and moving forward. [Oct 2010, p.114]

The first six songs include plodding modern rock that sounds like the Offspring's "Gone Away," an attempt at dark disco with clumsy lyrics and cheeseball pop. But if you stick it out, you'll be rewarded: Invented's second half features gorgeous "Littlething," Adkins' top-notch duet with Rachel Haden and Linton's punchy "Action Needs An Ambulance." [Oct 2010, p.112]

The Big Deep is a very good album that is hard to pigeonhole. In a time when far too many bands are playing by the rules of one sub-sub-genre or another, true uniqueness is encouraging.

Forget imperfect--this bold reinvention is anything but. [Oct 2010, p.117]

Hurley isn't perfect, but it's the best thing Weezer have done in quite some time, and that's all we can hope for-until the next Nirvana comes along, of course.

While he certainly has the ability to rage in a Mel-Gibson-esque blow-me-while -I-burn-the-house-down style, Cave brings enough grace and reticence to the songs, making the proceedings even more sinister. [Oct 2010, p.113]

Les Savy Fav received high marks before, but this album proves this oft-comical band are no joke. [Oct 2010, p.116]

On paper the choice of Jon Brion, a musician and engineer best known for his work in film seemed perfect, but unfortunately it didn't temper Barnes' misguided vision to be the indie-rock Prince. [Oct 2010, p.116]

Shredding is more notable for its urgency and energy. Oh Superchunk! It's so good to have you back. [Oct 2010, p.117]

Sleep Forever is a fine album, but you get the sense that if the band focused on their pop sensibilities as much as they do their more seemingly aesthetic inclinations, it would have been a great album.

Penny feels both sculpted and spontaneous. [Oct 2010, p.112]

The album can't sustain the energy of early tracks like "Bird" and "Scribble," but while the blaze lasts, it's definitely worth warming yourself up on. [Oct 2010, p.120]

Moon is bith dark and sweet, its elegiac tones creating a distinct mood that is at the same time beautiful and heartbreaking. [Oct 2010, p.112]

Those fond of musical risk-taking will find Light Chasers to be a thrilling experience. [Oct 2010, p.113]

Even if Banks sticks to the "I've got two secrets but I only told you one" songwriting approach, hopefully a band shakeup will spark the soulfulness only occasionally heard in his contributions. [Oct 2010, p.118]

During the course of 10 catchy, snappy, lo-fi pop-punk songs, an incredibly personal, heartfelt narrative unfolds, full of ups and downs. [Oct 2010, p.120]

While melodic skull-kickers like "In Person" will hook fans of the band's later work. It's when Hamilton overreaches--a cover of the Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing" and the string-driven "LA Water"--that things take a turn for the weird, but mercifully, the schizophrenia is short-lived. [Oct 2010, p.113]

Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is largely proof that what Anberlin might now lack in immediate catchiness, they more than make up for in composure. [Oct 2010, p.111]

I'm Having Fun Now is a good time for your ears, and hopefully the start of more collaborations between the two lovebirds.

What's great about Strange Weather, Isn't It? is that it offers enough diversity to save you from making you own mastermix. [Sep 2010, p.108]

Like many trilogies, though, the third one stumbles to reach the bar set by its predecessors. However, Morning certainly doesn't suck, and fans will appreciate its place in the evolution of Eels. [Sep 2010, p.109]

Lovely and bewitching, Cipher unfolds like an elegantly written novel. [Sep 2010, p.112]

The Orchard is a significantly more melancholy collection of songs. But melancholy seems to suit Ra Ra Riot, especially since they don't get too caught up in its gloom. [Sep 2010, p.113]

Why does Warp Riders feel so lacking? The root cause could be that the songs on this album are stripped of the sexy strut that marked the Sword's earlier efforts. [Sep 2010, p.113]

Thanks to a vintage church organ, a sizzling saxophone and a little recording expertise, Pickin' Up The Pieces' deceptively analog sound has all the crackle and warmth of the music pouring out of an old AM radio. [[Sep 2010, p.109]

Sway is a noticeable sonic upgrade from SSLYBY's previous two albums, which can be somewhat off-putting at first, Still, the progression suits the quartet rather fine. [Sep 2010, p.113]

That Cohen and Midgett are still making music after decades of popular indifference and one act of unthinkable tragedy is admirable; that they're still making albums as soulful, uncompromising and evocative as Blood Under The Bridge is close to heroic.

The Suburbs pulls back much of the meandering songwriting and garbled wall-of-sound production that marred most of Neon Bible; it's not perfect, but its moments of clarity make it worth the trip.

The album is a devilishly fun listen when he's behaving liked a genius on the attack [Sep 2010, p.116]

Seattle's Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band make a dramatic leap forward on this meditative follow-up to their eponymous 2009 debut. [Sep 2010, p.112]

Transit Transit, the follow-up to 2004's similarly majestic Future Perfect, doesn't stray from the intended path, offering sonic action painting, narcotic dreamscapes and other manifestations of sonic bliss that you simply cannot divine from any band currently operating.

The Portland, Oregon, trio trade their micro-fragmented structures for indie-pop opuses drenched in linear tensions on the meticulously crated Mines. [Aug 2010, p150]

They really hit their offbeat stride on Fortress with "Japanese Woman," the tale of a woman who "lives in my closet" and "eats up all my food when she thinks I'm at the office." [Aug 2010, p.150]

It's a shame it's a one-off, because Dark Night's trippy, psychedelic tunes are a true treat for your ears. [Aug 2010, p.146]

The result is an album that's dream-like and ephemeral, but still surprisingly grounded and catchy--no doubt the result of strong songwriting and a firm sense of time and place. [Aug 2010, p.152]

The band's piecemeal rock 'n' roll emerges a mish-mash of spacey barroom blues, with Kevin's voice sometimes struggling yo pair with the front-and-center obligation that rawer music demands. [Aug 2010, p.146]

Though the album gets too repetitive, the uniformity of Acolyte still serves the band's purpose: Make the floor move.

The album as a whole sweeps across a broad range of stylistic tones, maintaining levity while dabbling in comparably serious musical pursuits. [Aug 200, p.146]

The band come up with hooks aplenty, delivering anti-pop gold on the guaranteed-to-disappoint-no-one Expo 86. [Aug 2010, p.156]

Just beacuse they've moved toward a more organic sound, doesn't mean no fire remains in their bellies. The melodic themes and Dave Davison's vocal phrases may draw Beatles and Country Joe McDonald comparisons, but angular guitars still skitter in the back ground of "Israeli Caves" and "Solid Ground" while fleet-fingered complexity drives "Pigeon." [Jul 2010, p.127]

Not only have Steel Train Shed the jam-band tag with their third, self-titled full-length, they've also finally lived up to their own musical potential. [Aug 2010, p.152]

So despite some standouts--thw more energetic and melodic "Dissolve" and "Swoon"--the Brothers' latest, trippiest trip is best taken as a whole. [Jul 2010, p.123]

Listening to singers Torquil Campbell and Amuy Millan is like watching two dancers perform an urgent ballet: Their equally lovely voices merge and seperate, always working in unison and sometimes soaring above the other. [Jul 2010, p.127]

He comes closer to rediscovering the excitement, ethereal looseness and raucous twang that epotomizes his first three efforts than he has any time in the past 15 years. [Jul 2010, p.123]

Gone for the most part are the skittering disco-punk rhythms and fully engorged urgency that drove their material. Instead, you have a slower, more methodical approach that lets these pop gems blossom out in thin ribbons.

American Slang is no disappointment--these are expertly written songs by a band who continue to learn who they are and what they play as time goes on. [Jul 2010, p.121]

On 2008's Brain Thrust Mastery, the trio attempted to inject a bit more seriousness and Brit-pop influence into their best-when-kept-simple sound, to varying results, but Barbara finds them back in their comfort zone--fun, danceable pop-rock.

Eyes & Nines melts faces entirely on its own merit. [Jul 2010, p.130]

Cover albums are usually a contractual cop-out, but the diverse scope and amount of thought put into each track on If I Had A Hi-Fi prevents it from sounding superfluous or self-indulgent. [Jun 2010, p.107]

Against Me! were great because of their flaws, not in spite of them--White Crosses just isn't that much fun to listen to. [Jun 2010, p.102]

Might as well slot this Portland, Oregon, Sextet on Bonnarooo's schedule for the next decade. [Jul 1010, p.122]

Tokyo Police Club retain their enthusiasm with Champ; they just want to show off the new tricks in their pony show. [Jul 1010, p.130]

The paino ballads make Black Dirt more melancholy than previous efforts, but no less masterful. [Jun 2010, p.102]

Rarely can sheer, brute force from a pair like Miller and Krauss make everything that comes afterward seem so irrelevant.