GVSB returns with the hallmark components of its early '90s Touch & Go days: piercing guitar riffs, frequent attacks of twin basses, surging percussion, and a heavy dose of vocal sass from Scott McCloud.

Carefully written, elegantly performed, and generously emotional, it's another work by an artist still at his creative peak.

Few bands exceed Alpha in the creation of truly encompassing and sensual chill-out tunes, and while The Impossible Thrill fails to really explore new territory, it's revisiting familiar and hallowed ground.

Call it urban ethereal, grounded in gritty raps and coiled funk rhythms, bolstered by jazz keyboards, soaring vocals, and synthesizers.

An expert balance of vintage Aerosmith and more contemporary stylings.

Mirwais lays down grooves that aren't even sensual; they're rambunctiously horny.

The Hives seem to have approached Vicious with one aim in mind: to rock – hard -- for 27 minutes straight. Even more impressively, they actually pull it off.

Dispensing with the synthesizers and glossy production that marred previous efforts, the group instead delivers no-frills, arena-ready rockers with a dense, almost punkishly raw sound.

The arbiters of mellow have turned the fully realized indie pop of their last and most accessible effort, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, inside out, exposing a softer, fleshy side that's more akin to some of their earlier outings.

When Maxwell sings songs cultivated to melt a girl's heart ("Silently"), it sounds more like grand, fervent gospel than a cheap, fevered move.

Becker and Fagen seem to have found their happy place during the recording of Two Against Nature. And as it's presented on this extremely infectious collection, their joy is contagious.

A finely wrought chronicle of joy and heartbreak, partying and love, his tuneful, raspy voice the perfect balance of eloquence and muscle.

Underneath it all, they're not much different than the fans who buy their records, and it's that adoration of sound that makes Back to Mine shine.

Undoubtedly one of the most infectious records you'll hear this year.

The CD unfurls a ragged blend of infectious melodies, couched in brisk tempos, and shimmering ballads culled from the blueprint of such past hits as "Name" and "Iris."

A sophomore album that actually lives up to its hype.

Another solid effort.

Heathen Chemistry finds the quintet back in cracking mid-'90s form.

He's still slicing and dicing styles like this week's challenger on Iron Chef, but this time he's got some serious guest firepower to back up these cross-cultural forays.

Their latest, Lions, gets back to basics without going backward; the brothers Robinson are still ripping off the classics, sure, but they've expanded the history lesson from the Small Faces and Humble Pie to sharpening the attack with Zeppelinesque tricks and modern rock energy.

Vintage Reed?

Still, the faithful wonder if it's the same Belle and Sebastian that gave them such fey, storied gems as Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister. They can breathe easy now.

Double Figure further fuses the themes fans have come to expect, but feels even more warm and organic than past efforts.

It is truly exciting stuff from a group that represents a sagging genre's vitally bright future.

On Art and Life, Beenie's lyrical flow is unstoppable. He unleashes some of his sharpest and funniest rhymes over slickly-produced tracks aimed squarely for hip-hop radio airplay.

An early study of California hip-hop, Überzone mixes twisted, bubbling Roland bass, big beats, and vocoder effects to make futuristic electro-anthems that manage to pop and lock like robots, but recall the organic '80s breaker heyday and never sound sterile and stiff.

Arguably its most cohesive and dynamic effort yet.

It's the breath-taking songwriting that clinches the deal here.