A record of both disappointments and welcome surprises.

As lyricists (they co-wrote many of the songs on Revelation), none of the members of 98° bring to mind T.S. Eliot, even at his jiggiest. But as a vocal group, they sure can be impressive.... while Revelation is nowhere near perfect, it is at times undeniably good and quite moving.

Overall, Harsh doesn't lack for bright spots or catchy melodies, but ultimately, it doesn't move me.

This stuff is too cute for its own damn good.

With 1998's Blue Wonder Powder Milk and now The Magnificent Tree, Hooverphonic's sound has become increasingly hip and cosmopolitan, slowly processing out everything that made it so alluring in the first place. It's still sleek and meticulously produced. But, as with the latest from Morcheeba (another band with similar trip-hoppy proclivities), the nagging sense of something menacing behind these songs has practically disappeared.

Orgy sounds a lot like Marilyn Manson on this album, with touches of David Bowie and New Wave techno-pop added for flavor. The results are completely derivative... The result is an album that is often amazing sonically, occasionally gripping musically, pretty dopey lyrically, and absolutely empty in terms of real substance.

A strong Lemonheads kind of vibe-

Rather than highbrow art-rock, we just get a really pretentious heavy metal album.... the Pumpkins' worst album to date.

This new album... sees them mutating into less of a rock outfit and more of what is commonly called "adult contemporary" -- in other words, music for soccer moms and rich yuppies to play really loud in their BMWs-

A too-long, languid mess of Hoboken groove.... a thoroughly disappointing affair.

With "Modus Operandi," Photek blew open the possibilities of drum 'n' bass by paring the genre down to its simplest, most ominous elements. Solaris, by comparison, sounds absolutely generic.

The punky edge to the band has been all but jettisoned, in favor of slick production, orchestral backdrops, and cloying melodies that render even the occasionally dark lyrics (mostly about divorce this time) surprisingly limp.

With Soul Caddy's stunted riffs, lethargic attack and thin, shiny sound, it's hard to believe that they're one of the most amazing live bands in the country, because exactly none of that energy translates here. Even on theoretical ass-kickers like "Irish Whiskey," the vibe is so washed-out (just like when they do "soul" or "funk" or "glam" or "grunge"), it's a bit depressing and Weird Al-like.