The Kooks aren't exactly redefining the sound of British pop/rock on their sophomore album, but they certainly aren't giving it a bad name either.

The Game goes surprisingly mellow in comparison to his first two efforts.

After a four-year break, Usher's fifth set is bursting with grown man, true-to-life tales like leaving his player ways behind ("Before I Met You"), falling in love ("Something Special," "Lifetime" and the title track), making love ("This Ain't Sex") and having a child.

Breathtaking and beautiful, as well as haunting and bleak...

While, at times, Voyage to India seems a bit too preachy, Arie has a way of bringing everything together in a very palatable way.

Sure, there's the occasional melodramatic interlude (despite its lyrical cliches, "Luv Lies" has the potency to be another "Angel"-size smash). But there's also more white-knuckled hard-rock intensity here than on the band's most recent efforts.

If parts of "Shock City" shudder under the weight of seeming too cool for school, much credit is due Beans for being one of the producer/MCs desperate to stretch out the rubbery boundaries of the genre.

[It] finds him eschewing his signature peak-hour beats and dancefloor rhythms for primarily ambient sounds—with rock and jazz flourishes.

The band's addictive hooks and memorable charm are far from dismissive.

Flecked at every turn with Kozelek's unique interpretive bent, "Tiny Cities" is a triumph.

It is simply miserable, heavy, repetitive and cathartic. [18 Nov 2006]

Patton is either a musical genius or one lucky mad scientist. [3 Jun 2006]

With this mostly impressive album, Loewenstein has stepped out from behind Sebadoh founder Lou Barlow's shadow to prove he's a powerful songwriter and player in his own right.

For every piece that sounds like aimless noodling, there are keepers like the strutting "Wheel Broke," the guitar-only "Mountain," the Tortoise-style "Balcony" and the absolutely gorgeous "Eighty Eights."

When the World Comes Down doesn't evince much growth, proffering more of the same hooky pop/rock centered around adolescent love and heartache.

One wishes they would spend a little more time plowing through the album while kicking amps and knocking over mic stands rather than changing things up.

The artist is in fine, ever-changing voice throughout, and there's certainly a ton of musical food for thought here, requiring several listens before the nuances are revealed. Worth the wait? Maybe. Worth a few hours of your time? Definitely.

Dave Gahan wisely returns to the highly synthesized electronica of his main band Depeche Mode.

The group's self-titled debut shows that it has more than one flashy single to offer.

Mark's sound here is cohesive and unified, though a pervasive midtempo vibe and downer subject matter (it's mostly a breakup album) tend to blur together. [3 Mar 2007]

Hungry Bird is a charming and welcome return to form for Barzelay.

"Sound Loaded" shows Martin walking the tightrope between requisite familiarity and fresh musical ground with remarkable ease.

Fatboy Slim (aka electronica pioneer Norman Cook) succeeds at the daunting task of assembling material that smartly courts pop listeners, while simultaneously maintaining loyalty to the club underground that's nurtured his career.

Oblivion simmers without boiling, and the tension is intoxicating.

It all goes down smooth until Gordon introduces funk ("Radar Blip," "Jaded") and calypso ("Morphing Again") to the mix, with the results sounding stiff or dated. But make no mistake: He's got plenty to be proud of here.

While Light of X seldom soars, it certainly cruises at a pleasant altitude.

[Stone] continues to reinvent soul music, injecting a very classic sound with contemporary sass and verve.

Carey's made a pop album with equal parts levity and gravity.

Ulrich Schnauss returns with more lush, ambient music fitting for any chill-out session or long summer drive with the windows down.

The singer does double duty as a dance diva and brokenhearted balladeer. It's no easy feat, but when Spears shoves aside the tabloid trauma and hooks up with the right producers--on this album it's Guy Sigsworth, Danja, Dr. Luke and Max Martin--she is in a class of her own.

In its entirety the album is a great debut, toe-tapping and catchy with just the right blend of familiarity and individuality, and it should send a message to new bands: Simplicity is key.

Funplex works best when the voices blend into the ass-moving momentum.

For the most part, the producers simply add audio garnishing to Korn's signature sound via loops and Pro Tools trickery. [10 Dec 2005]

A winning result.

The 10 songs are all strong, and placed in an order that creates an emotional arc, like a real--what's that word again?--album.

The album is filled with big guitar noise and mildly incongruous but not unpleasant mixtures of modern riffs ("Rocket"), new wave basslines ("Victory at Monterey") and retro hooks and melodies ("Miss Myrtle").

The new set goes just far enough beyond the call of duty to warrant repeat listens.

Has less twang but more bang than any of his previous work. [4 Mar 2006]

What's left is a tightly wound core of guitar, bass, drums, and vocal harmonies that naïvely captures the spirit and spunk of early rock icons the Kinks and the Beach Boys.

Continues to straddle the line between street credibility and mainstream success.

Sleeping With Ghosts is glorious; an unrepentant emotional exorcism that cohesively hurdles between the bleak and wounded, the exuberant and defiant.

"Sam's Town" is a sophisticated sonic metropolis.

Thematically starved, Seeing Sounds is nonetheless a sonic feast.

A gigantic step backward.

[Franti's] ambitions pay off on this strapping, if sprawling, collection.

There's nothing all that innovative here, but Preparations is warm and familiar enough to keep the brain buzzing.

Perfect Symmetry bursts out of the gate with a suite of giddy, '80s-inflected Brit pop songs that, surprisingly, suit the band well.

Cuomo turns the mic over to the other three members of Weezer for a song each (the best: "Automatic," sung by drummer Pat Wilson), unironically salutes the influence of Nirvana ("Heart Songs") and marries fake crowd noise and piano to the thick power chords of "Greatest Man." Rock on.

That overstuffed guest list doesn't necessarily work to the exclusive benefit of The Spirit of Apollo, as sometimes the clutter makes it hard to hear precisely what kind of music Zegon and Spiegel are trying to make here.

At times, there's a lack of consistency with too many ideas thrown onto the table, but it's that diversity heard throughout Nutini's sophomore effort that gives this AC singer/songwriter a leg up.

"The Big Bang" successfully treads the line of commercialism, with palatable mainstream singles and solid street tracks.

Sia still brings enough weird on Some People to satisfy old-school fans.

Here, there are moments when he entertains us and other times when he doesn't.

"Run the Road 2" does not live up to its crack predecessor, but that observation is neither a surprise nor a slam. [18 Feb 2006]

The most ambitious and most fully realized album of his career.

This is an exciting new chapter for Bon Jovi. [23 Jun 2007]

"Faith And Courage" is head and shoulders above what came before it. In fact, it is brilliant.

While her voice has lost some of its power through the years, "Mimi" deftly showcases her still-considerable pipes with strong lyrics and slick production.

Saadiq's production is brimming with horns and seriously in-the-pocket rhythm sections, but there are also enough hip-hop touches and contemporary arrangements to keep the tracks in the now. [24 Mar 2007]

While the Who's acoustic side has always been underappreciated, Townshend revels in it here. [4 Nov 2006]

A masterfully crafted collection that warmly recalls the era of album-driven FM rock radio.

With a few notable exceptions... inspiration is just what this album lacks.

The songwriting grows less challenging as the album unfolds, often lacking the kind of vocal performances that provide real traction.

Hatfield tears through 12 songs, posturing and pouting over caustic guitars and leaving her singalong hooks raw and unedited. [13 Aug 2005]

Son Volt may be playing it too safe on American Central Dust, but the songs are still woven together with a feeling of comfort and familiarity.

Tropical Storm should be the album that blows away fans and critics alike.

"My World, My Way" shows the continuing evolution of a young MC with a promising future.

The best part of Sparro is that he's not just multiplying old styles by new sounds. Dressed like a raver B-boy, switching between Rufus Wainwright and D'Angelo, the boy's not faking it.

The rest of Identified, though, panders to the preteen demo with stop-start pop that ranges from pleasant (the title track) to dull ("Amazed") to off-putting ("Hook It Up"). But for little girls, this is one nonstop singalong.

They strive to be a classic band, crafting timeless songs that will still be fresh and relevant long after the competition sounds dated and quaint.

Sum 41's most mature album to date.

A provocative, richly rewarding set reflecting love and life changes. [1 Oct 2005]

There are a few head-scratchers,....but singer Caleb Followill has never been in better command of his beyond-his-years howl, and he's got monster hooks and melodies yet in his bottle of tricks.

With Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Vinny Appice on drums, the lyrically macabre and demonically alluring music sounds more like a band backing Ronnie James Dio than it does an act trying to distinguish itself as an entity apart from Sabbath's and Dio's solo endeavors. Yet The Devil You Know has a great sound in its own right.

Sensual, mysterious, and provocative, Learning From Falling shines brightly.

A mostly solid collection of quirky dance pop and cryptic rock.

There is an easy-listening elegance to his songs, but the album plays out like a soundtrack to sipping coffee. [28 Jan 2006]

It's a very sexually explicit R. Kelly who greets fans on this outing. [2 Jun 2007]

There are only a couple of songs with enough impact to avoid boring people who catch the band on tour this summer. [9 Jun 2007]

The band stretches out in some new directions on the trance-y 'Washington Square' and incorporates psychedelic overtones into 'Insignificant' and 'Le Ballet d'Or.' 'You Can't Count on Me' sounds like the flip side of a Bruce Springsteen love song, and such tracks as '1492,' 'Cowboys' and 'Come Around' rock with sweeping dynamic energy.

The upgraded melodic sense makes CSS stand out from all the other electropop bands that sound like Liquid Liquid and can turn a smutty lyric.

Highly cerebral, the visceral kick hits on the third or fourth play.

Snoop Dogg remains as relevant and rambunctious as ever.

His reports here from the streets ('Me and My Goons'), the boudoir ('Spend the Night') and the hospital room ('Family Straight') sizzle with a stripped-down immediacy that makes good on the album's title; few MCs seem as committed to a warts-and-all presentation as Plies.

Morcheeba returns with Dive Deep, a gorgeous collection of folk- and blues-inflected electro-pop ballads.

It introduces enough intriguing new elements (Japanese instruments, British guest vocalists) to earn its place in the Air canon. [10 Mar 2007]

While over-produced and quite sentimental, this is a very sweet record.

Toby Keith has developed into a superstar for a reason, and he keeps getting better.

With Rick Rubin polishing the group's garage rock approach into a sharper aural attack, T(I)NC dishes out such heady anthems.

DJ/rappers Redfoo and Sky Blu (the son and grandson, respectively, of Motown founder Berry Gordy) fulfill all the lyrical requirements for a summer anthem--sunny locale, sexual tension and a liquor-assisted nonstop party.

Though this music could easily be viewed as Longwave's take on Interpol's take on Coldplay's take on Radiohead, it isn't that derivative or boring.

An album to return to again and again, whose depth grows with every spin.

The Aluminum Group's "Pelo" features the lush production and silky arrangements one expects to find on a Tortoise record, plus a healthy dose of Stereolab-influenced vocal harmonies thrown in for good measure.

Free from the noodling of past producers like Jim O'Rourke and John McEntire, who brought some great ideas but also a certain degree of fussiness, Stereolab sounds looser and lighter than it has in some time.

Some of its strongest work to date.

Lyrical themes get a bit murkier on her appropriately titled sophomore effort, Battlefield.

This is the definitive Moby album.

Morissette's superb lyrics leave you cheering for her--and assured that she's going to be just fine.