Has more melody and memorable riffs than the band's previous two albums.

While dancehall novices may find some of the material redundant, "Back to Basics" is a traditional dancehall album in every sense of the word. It's rhythmic, sexual and unapologetically raw.

Just as the busking, basement-tapes balladry of Stereo feels wan and undercooked, the rough-and-ready rock of Mono brims with the thoughtfulness and soulful energy of Westerberg's 1993 solo debut, 14 Songs, and his ever-influential Replacements catalog.

The album's best moments come on XTC-flavored new wave tracks like "Skip to the End" and "Favours for Favours," where they ease up on the accelerator and let the songs breathe.

[A] compendium of mostly refined Americana, albeit filtered through Black's uniquely cockeyed worldview.

Kelly has an uncanny ability to mix retro sounds with tasty dollops of contemporary seasoning.

Overall though, is the album better than "Prairie Wind" or "Living With War"? Yes.

While fans of her early-'90s material will find much to embrace here, those that rallied 'round the singer during her hip-hop days may feel lost and abandoned.

Guster's loudest and most ambitious effort to date.

A surprisingly moody affair.

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

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.

"Mighty Rearranger" isn't great, but it's awfully good, and if Plant's voice has faded slightly in power over the years, it's still remarkably strong.

An understated triumph. [9 Dec 2006]

A nice teaser to satiate fans between proper full-lengths.

Finds Merritt and his longtime backing band moving away from pop formalism, slightly toning down the cabaret affectations and focusing a little more on the melodies and hooks rather than the genre-hopping arrangements.

While "Hives" isn't as easy to digest as previous Broken Social Scene outings, it still deserves many a spin.

The artists seem to have brought the best out of each other, and the result is much better than just hearing them go through the motions.

When "White Trash With Money" is good, it's very good. And when it's not so good, it's still OK. [15 Apr 2006]

[Finn's] attempt to add more dimension to his whiskey-soaked vocals is striking. And for the most part it works.

Cuts like 'In Your Words' and 'Grace' cover an impressive amount of sonic ground, from delicate acoustic atmospherics to full-on rhythmic pummeling. Yet with frontman Randy Blythe's guttural growl--not to mention his bile-soaked lyrics about religious hypocrisy--this is hardly a bid for an active-rock breakthrough.

It deftly balances sweet ballads, outer-space jazz, acid-rock, and firecracker funk superior to almost anything he has offered since perhaps "Sign O' the Times."

Unfortunately, this disc's positives don't add up to a great album: Plenty of boilerplate g-funk thuggery serves as filler.

It's always sort of tough to rally behind an artist dissin' the music industry—I mean, how do you support someone who's living a rock star's life but still complaining, right? But Tom Petty makes it all too easy here, slyly balancing bitter references to modern-day payola, shifty execs, and even the struggles of artists over 40 with wistful imagery of rock'n'roll dreams.

Despite meticulous production, "The Re-Up" retains some of the spare, raw feel of an underground release. [16 Dec 2006]

Of course, straying from emo's typical lyrical terrain is less risky when it's accompanied by music that fulfills the genre's stylistic requirements as completely (and as satisfyingly) as the hooky, fuzz-encrusted tunes on Lonely Road do.

Fun, thoughtful, and dynamic-

While there are certainly some forgettable moments here... the refreshing news is that "Normal Happiness" can stand proudly amid the Pollard oeuvre.