Illumination is heartfelt, lost-in-the-'60s songcraft, so perfect in style and sound you might think you’re in the cavernous halls of London’s BBC studios, home to a zillion performances of the Beatles, the Stones, the Faces, and yes, the Jam. When the past sounds this good, why not revel in it?

Forget the brattiness and occasional lunacy that succeeded Tidal's ascent to hit status. This is the work of an adult artist, and onethat's going to be sticking around.

Permission To Land is actually good enough to motivate more than a few curious, intrepid listeners to give their dusty old Dokken albums another spin.

Night Works proclaims the victory of brains over booty-call, mind over matter, craft over cash.

The group's innate intelligence and almost shocking ability to forge something new and thrilling out of typical garage-rock influences always shines brightly through the thick Guinness fog.

Another sterling and fearless entry in the Earle discography.

While some of the complexities of their precursors have been beveled off by MM&W, dancefloor maniacs and couch boppers alike will find something to admire in rhythmically compulsive entries like the title track.

The album may not improve on 2001's Sophtware Slump, but its pleasures lie in accepting reasonable underachievement, and knowing that speed kills.

Gold has its good points and its filler.

The album carries a compelling intensity among the varied and evocative songs.

The vitality of these ditties is such that you'll be swept up in the excitement without much time or inclination for deep lyrical dissections, or fretting about Rancid's originality.

The band's strong suit--which, when it gets down to business, has gotten noticeably stronger (and tighter and more focused) over the course of four releases--are earthy dance tracks like "Music Plus 1" and "Wog.com" which take hypnotic bass and drum tracks and embellish them with a variety of samples, noises, etc., and Tjinder Singh's simple, effective vocals.

Stellastarr stand out from 2003's even-newer-new-wave-of-new-wave pack in that they manage to borrow from the suddenly-cool-again decade of Pacman and parachute pants without sounding like they've spent the last six months sequestered in a loft watching VH1's I Love The '80s documentary series in a constant loop.

At the very least, it's the best album of Paul Westerberg's spotty solo career.

Mark's best work yet.

The mournful, blues-and-gospel-based "Fallin'"--a great song that was certainly no obvious choice as the first single--is the most notable declaration of independence, but Songs In A Minor is full of them.

Rockist textures and lush dreamscapes that could very well be the Cocteau Twins take on heavy metal.

Both her songs, mature and articulate, and the quality of her voice, airy and haunting a la Nico (but not as dark), are of uncommon quality.

Some may find the Aluminum Group's love-on-ice songs too slick, too lacking in visceral emotion. But like a cool breeze in summer, the Navins make melancholy a delicious treat.

Other than "PMS," a misguided Lauryn Hill cop, the album also gets stronger as it plays, concluding with an impressive trio of songs that show off Blige's gospel roots.

All this anger's not just therapeutic--it also makes her transition to hard hip-hop diva seem sensible, instead of just a marketing move, by grounding it in something real.

"Implosion" is a bit of an overstatement. These guys go soft and introspective in the face of crisis and it never reaches the point of any actual combustion.

Celebrating nonsense and good sense, Beta Band make music from junk and found sounds, their quirky combo of serendipity and sample skills paying off in spades.

This is 33 minutes of pure pop bliss; there isn't a bad song or a missed opportunity anywhere here.

Liars got the punk wave thing down, but what makes them more interesting than their peers is their willingness to explore beyond the edges of the new-wave box.

Brainwashed is rich in warm Harrison vocals, couple with his distinctive slide guitar style. Unfortunately, it's also rife with often too-glossy production.

Surreal and disquieting, yet comforting, Drawn From Life chills your bones while it lulls you to sleep.

Unlike artists who "discover" the idea during songwriting droughts, Ferry is one of the few "rock" singers to embrace (and master) the underrated art of "song stylist."