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]

A guileless, brutal breakup album that can sit with the best of them, set to the sounds of music's finest early rock moments. [17 Mar 2007]

There is a little too much tra-la-la-ing, but it's a pleasure to hear a new band having so much infectious fun. [24 Mar 2007]

"Myth Takes" ... should see the festive art-rock collective bop its way out of cult status, as each of the 10 cuts on this album adventurously cascade through genres without ever losing a groove. [10 Mar 2007]

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

Bombast occasionally gets the better of the songwriting, but that's a small complaint on an album that gets nearly everything just right. [10 Mar 2007]

"The Search" is Son Volt 2.0, a modern, mature album that might be the group's best yet. [10 Mar 2007]

It's a tightly woven scheme whose anthemic simplicity is deceptive and leaves room for sophisticated (but still fierce) arrangements. [10 Mar 2007]

Cooder has fine musical companions on his journey. [10 Mar 2007]

The melodies aren't always there, and the restrained production makes for an occasionally nagging sense of meandering. [3 Mar 2007]

"Security" lunges in a new experimental direction every few minutes... but never strays far from the groove, nor its compelling indignation. [10 Mar 2007]

The dabbling in different sounds and textures results in a surprisingly cohesive effort for DMST, and one that successfully sustains interest throughout. [3 Mar 2007]

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]

As each quiet-loud-quiet song cycles through its emotional peaks and valleys, the band considerately adds, subtracts and multiplies conflicting elements and melodies to complete the picture. [24 Feb 2007]

He stuffs "Atlantis" to the core with ambition, wicked grooves and more hooks than you might expect. [24 Feb 2007]

The set as a whole lacks variety and rarely shifts tempo. [24 Feb 2007]

That this album could just as easily have come out in 1985 is no detriment to its consistently entertaining songs. [24 Feb 2007]

A delightfully breezy and refreshingly hopeful chill-out solo disc. [24 Feb 2007]

Willner's soulful production, elegant and layered, recalls Daniel Lanois' work with Emmylou Harris. [17 Feb 2007]

Lerche seems headed in a promising musical direction, but not all the songs here pack the expected punch. [10 Feb 2007]

A shamelessly melodic, wild and powerful pop record. [10 Feb 2007]

Overall, this dynamic collection has something unexpected at every turn. [10 Feb 2007]

It's a concept so heady and engrossing that it can obscure the fact that "Sermon" also rocks in a way Jones never has before. [17 Feb 2007]

In each case, a brand-new track has been crafted, but some work better than others. [10 Feb 2007]

The album is laced with spacey, distorted guitar fuzz, delicate '60s pop melodies, groovy basslines and winsome lyrics that coalesce into a unified group of songs from start to finish. [17 Feb 2007]

All in all, the effort has more space, less atmosphere and gets right to the point.

"The Good, the Bad and the Queen" seems to be waiting for a payoff that never materializes.

A quietly ambitious effort that nudges the Shins' trademark indie pop into unexpected new directions.