The songs are lively and well put together, but sometimes they could be a little more fun.

Much of "Turn the Lights Off" is inspired by '80s artists who wanted to sound like they were from the '60s.

The ballads that apparently deal with Rowland's ex-fiance, Roy Williams, are the broken heart of the album: They also eschew subtlety (lyrically, at least), yet the results show Rowland has artistic depths that keeping up with the Knowleses doesn't inspire.

'Like You'll Never See Me Again' is a reminder, amidst the clutter of many cooks on As I Am, that perhaps Keys was best as she was, after all.

Folds is clearly having fun, but is he laughing with us or at us? Sometimes it's hard to tell. But it's even harder not to smile.

Despite any pretensions otherwise, their second album sounds a lot like the Day-Glo disco and retro house being pushed by every other hip indie-dance act right now.

At times... "Introducing" sounds like the long-sought missing link between neo-soul and future-soul.... When "Introducing" falters, however, it's done in by the twin killers of modern soul: too much sex, not enough melody.

Although Cursive is still one of the best at what it does, "Happy Hollow" fails to live up to previous greatness.

As it is, it merely stands him in good stead amongst the many contenders for his throne.

This record is far more cohesive and creative musically, but it's less inspiring lyrically.

You could argue the all-star assemblage of "Press Play" - Diddy's first solo set in half a decade - would have been even stronger without the auteur's direct involvement, and certainly without his pedestrian rhymes about love and life.

Taylor has vastly improved as an MC since last year's "The Documentary," and though his material is still largely built around hip-hop cliches... he shows flashes of mordant wit that are as sly (and smutty) as they are surprising.

Even when they're abrasive, though, the songs are fascinating for what they show about the band's creative process.

There are glimmers of appeal elsewhere--the understated soul 'vamp on 'Day Too Soon,' or "Buttons,' the hidden rocker tacked onto the end--but the tunes feel too often like surface exercises that lack heart.

The uneven Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle finds Callahan's knack for twangy crispness, pastoral imagery, and stone-faced singing very much intact, though he adopts a distinct growl to utter the title of 'My Friends.'

Nash is more than just another girl on piano, and some of the songs on Made of Bricks are promising. But her inconsistent songwriting and penchant for falling back on cliches show that originality requires more than just an English accent.

A more indulgent but less fun record [than its predecessor].

Skin of Evil may come off as an unwieldy curio at first pass, but lingering listens will reveal the gripping gothic undertow of Mercer's warts-and-all songwriting, even for newcomers.

In some spots, the pacing proves problematic.

It's worth giving it a second (or third) listen.

The Atlanta crack rapper's third album is largely a faithful rehash of his first two platters, which transformed him from unrepentant hustler to unlikely inspirational figure.

As a placeholder for Hudgens' future career, Identified serves its purpose, even if it's seldom identifiable as her own work.

A late-album glut of so-so, mid-to-slow-tempo material like the Anthony Hamilton duet 'Losing You' and 'Work It Out' leaves you with a lesser impression than the disc probably deserves.

Although the folk songs fit the theme of the album, they don't showcase Cooder's skills as a composer.

The everyday-ness of the songs makes them easily relatable, but, like a commute where traffic and weather happen on the 10s, the album starts to feel routine by the end.

The good songs are great, but the empty bluster on some of the others overshadows the spunky personality that made Clarkson a draw in the first place.

While the new material will hardly tarnish the band's legacy, it won't add much, either.

That leaves the expected collection of highly buffed beats, a dozen producers deep, which occasionally generates material that ranks with Mariah's best.