The subdued exception 'Blue but Cool' aside, the pretentious poetry and overwrought riffing induce numbness, not transcendence.

Fiasco approaches his second album as if it's his last chance to get all his conflicted ideas out into the open.

Many emotions clearly still linger, but as a songwriter, he seems to lack the desire that he once had to simply be sincere. [Feb 2008, p.95]

It's a relatively solid record, but without any of the spectacularly gritty flashes the Wu are known for.

Few can both formulate hooks on the ecstatic level of 'One More Time' and then tweak them into noisy oblivion. [Dec 2007, p.119]

The former Fugee throws hip-hop, reggae, synth pop, and heavy metal into his trademark melting pot with little worry that the results might not blend. [Jan 2008, p.98]

Made sounds dirtier (i.e., more Southern) than its polished predecessor, though it still relies on a bevy of soul samples. The best is the Hall & Oates bite on 'Never.'

Despite Shelter From The Ash's transcendent drones and trippy, Eastern-inspired guitar figures...[Chasny's] vocals too often kill the buzz. [Dec 2007, p.125]

For simian disco, electro-pop remixes by DFA and Hot Chip stand out amid Disc 2's uneven DJ fodder. [Jan 2008, p.98]

The Hives want it all, so they've risked everything on an album that audibly fights to earn it. [Nov 2007, p.113]

Justin Timberlake, Timbaland anf Timbo's partner Nate "Danja" Hills, provide a reasonably good return on investment. [Dec 2007, p.118]

On her melodically powerful third studio album, she matures into the matriarch of her genre. [Dec 2007, p.120]

It's Dillinger's willingness to constantly incorporate new sounds--even commercial ones-- that makes Ire Works an experimental-rock touchstone. [Dec 2007, p.126]

Both halves are gripping, but Heim's unplugged conceit--which spotlights vocalist Jonsi Birgisson's high, ghostly howls--showcases the band's eerie pull. [Dec 2007, p.125]

I-Empire still makes you wonder what constituency DeLonge hopes to attract with such an anti-fun platform. [Dec 2007, p.112]

For all the squiggly melodies and bumpy computer beats, however, Smoke's strength is his spacey chameleon voice. [Dec 2007, p.126]

Untrue deepens and expands his emotional range. [Feb 2008, p.92]

Despair rules on this Liverpool threesome's crackling debut, wrapping loneliness in spiffy power pop.

It's never sonically engaging enough to stand out amid a rack of backpacks. [Dec 2007, p.112]

With tighter, mercifully shorter songs, like the Slayer-meets-slash trasher 'Almost Easy,' they're now defiling America's youth with more substance than style. [Nov 2007, p.114]

Keenan sometimes winks too much, but he knows when to pull back from the brink of ridiculousness. [Dec 2007, p.125]

Under the Boards, finds [Conley] in a surprisingly dark and newwavish mode, bobbing through spare, angular arrangements that overemphasize the off-key bleat that's his albatross as much as the band's signature.

The Thrills have matured into pretty crafty tunesmiths. [Nov 2007, p.125]

Shotter's Nation is still clotted with half-realized melodies and gutter-poet grime. [Nov 2007, p.117]

The layered results are mesmeric, giving their introverted noise a new, laserlike intensity. [Nov 2007, p.114[

No World For Tomorrow should ensure that 21-year-old dudes in women's jeans will gooble up reissues of "2112" for years to come. [Nov 2007, p.116]

Tankian may be taking a break from System of a Down, but his solo debut hardly favors wimpy love songs over political jeremiads. [Nov 2007, p.125]

Instead of psychedelic pop or Princely funk, they regurgitate limp fake reggae, crappy country yee-haw, dorky Eurodance, and nasty New Age. [Dec 2007, p.126]