Keith Urban's music and the themes that fill it rarely stray from predictable territory, but his pop-friendly country constructs are fueled by outsized charisma that keep them consistently above the pack.

"The Cost"... comprises 10 tracks that range from hopeful (but triumphant!) to sorrowful (but triumphant!) to morose (but triumphant!).

It’s an earnest homage to lean guitar rock with bluesy underpinnings.

It's what he does best; his musical past may be pilfered, but at least he treats it well.

If it's a well-worn groove, it's also an accomplished one.

Thunderheist prove more winning than most, due to Isis' knack for calm, rhythmic flow, all one- or two-syllable rhymes and the schoolyard-inspired spelling out of words.

A vehicle for his much-improved vocals, strong enough now to carry some songs.

However nonsensical, Perry's rants remain entertaining, and despite its flaws, the album holds together from start to finish.

While the slower, gentler moments are not without charm, large sections of the album land on the wrong side of the drowsy-dreamy divide.

The production is lush, the songs are well-written and Lewis can certainly sing. It’s just a boring record that hews too closely to the modern album template with a couple of hits and a bunch of filler.

An uneven album with some tremendous bright spots.

As a spirited reintroduction, the album is by no means too little, but given the time the band has been away, it may be too late.

The album as a whole is a tad precious, but the songs are pretty and Campbell's voice is subtly captivating.

The current reigning male vocalist of the year for both major country music organizations sticks to that blueprint for Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, taking no chances on a collection full of slick, predictable hooks and an easygoing manner.

The drum machine hallmark of his 1980s heyday is a staple of MPLSound, a disc that hauls that sound into the present with mixed results.

The preponderance of slow jams makes sense, given the introspection on display, yet none of them stands out enough to remind you that Brandy is more than just human.

No Age is certainly an adventurous band, but its sound here suffers from too much repetition.

An atmospheric downer.

While that darkness gives the album its semblance of originality, it may prove incompatible with the group's mass-market ambitions.

A pop album that, for all the lightness and joy that come with humming synthesizers, punchy horns and sing-along melodies, requires listeners to do some pretty heavy lifting.

'Ringleader Man,' remind you that whatever his vocal limitations, T-Pain has reintroduced the idea of melody to urban music, which is no small feat. However, predictable overkill of both the signature AutoTune warble and guest stars (Ludacris, Ciara, Akon, et al) obscures that accomplishment.

Despite his penchant for experimentation, much of his material remains accessible to casual listeners, even when he turns toward the self-indulgent.

He doesn't quite succeed, though in the process of failing, he turns in his most restrained and focused recordings to date.

Despite the catchy moments, The Orchard is not a distinctive record. In fact, aside from showcasing Duquette's inventive, propulsive drum work, the only chance the album takes is that it doesn't really take any chances.

"The Mix-Up" is all about groove and texture, sometimes at the expense of hooks.

High points are overshadowed by the abundance of filler on Intoxication.

Barnes and company's ninth studio album isn't as catchy or cohesive as the past few, hitting upon sublime moments--like when he quietly asks "Why I am so damaged?"--that are frustratingly few and far between.

Tracks like "Press Play" feature booming-enough backings, but even in the record's funkiest moments, like the left-field Prince homage "Cool," Snoop holds back.