With heart on his sleeve, Wagner opts for sobriety, but when those strings swell, the effect can be intoxicating.

While Burdon himself remains indignant, and indomitable, his tenacious stance is coached in songs that rarely measure up to the classics credited to him early on.

On their fourth album in a decade, the Donkeys don’t have surprises so much as a more confident and accomplished execution.

Consider this music a salve for the soul--restful, resigned, pretty and pensive... and yet as fragile as it is fleeting.

What might have been a great album merely becomes a good one, due to fact that much needed variation is in such short supply.

Though Thompson remains in the same contemplative state lyrically, In the Pit of the Stomach is a great follow up to Walls and unveils an orchestral maturity form the four gents.

Big Star was more than the sum of its parts, and as evidenced here, Chilton was only just beginning to mine his.

Seeing this is Grossi's first full-length, it's an achievement, and although it fizzles out near the end, the killer tracks far eclipse the lesser numbers.

There are certainly times when a bit more instrumentation (a cello, some percolating percussion, a lyrical guitar solo) would have enhanced the presentation.

There’s a cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Georgia on a Fast Train” tacked onto the record (only available on the limited edition CD and LP) that doesn’t quite do justice to the classic, but there are still more than enough bar room sing-alongs on Holdin’ the Bag to make the album worth it.

Lumineers is an album that successfully weaves a homespun, roots-folk feel with poetic prowess.

It’s that free-flowing vibe that helps make this seem more like an overdue reunion for the home town crowd as much as any attempt at a polished performance.

There are a couple of stumbles here, like on the somber “Easy Love,” but for the most part, Late Riser is crammed with stunning songs strong enough to make you forget what else is going on in the world--at least for 30 minutes or so.

The results come off like the soundtrack to an imaginary video game, one where environmental exploration is more important than staying on task.

Downcast, tasteful and frequently quite beautiful, Depersonalization borrows from sonics generated three decades ago, but with a lack of self-consciousness that makes it all sound fresh and new.

There are worse ways to pass 45 minutes than to listen to music so amiable as this, but Neil Finn has done--and one hopes will again do--much better.

Quieter and striking a more somber tone than their Grammy-nominated first record, it sounds as if the band went out of its way to tone down the catchiness of their initial offering. But the softer focus put the lyrics front and center and that’s, in part, what separates The Lumineers from the slew of bands that came after trying to replicate the success of “Ho Hey”.

On record, Teen Men come across as your average, edgy modern pop combo, all shimmery, engaging songs with few constraints and even fewer darker designs.

It’s doubtful anyone will stroll about humming these tunes, but so too, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to find there’s something about them that’s all but impossible to shake.

Corb Lund, the former Canadian punk rocker turned roots country singer, is back with his eighth record and has settled into a comfortable, stripped down grove with a little lap steel thrown in for good measure.

No matter how synthetic and mechanical things get, the stain of cosmic psychedelia never completely fades.

Skying proves a maturing for the band and unveils a new realm of sonic possibilities.

Underrated Silence is never less than pretty, and often strikingly so, yet it lacks the grit that might make these compositions emotionally involving.

It’s all quite pleasant, nicely played and sung and recorded, but perhaps a little distant. These tunes flow by like sunny afternoons and when they’re done you can’t remember much.

Some tracks prize vibe over structure to their detriment.

If concept albums aren't your thing, so be it. But if a rare musical vision is, you'd be foolish to pass up Night of Hunters.

The songs on Deeper Into Dream don't manage to connect with listeners like some of Lee's previous work.

The formula--and the tempo--never really varies, although some of the musical settings are craggier than others.