On their third album, this San Francisco–based, Mark Kozelek–led bunch stumble over saccharine set-opener "Lost Verses" (which channels icky Young wannabes America with less success than Midlake) en route to a beautifully depressing array of funereal folk.

Unfortunately, despite now working with David Bowie producer Tony Visconti, who infuses their angular, system-smashing screeds with timpani ("Good and Ready"), brass ("Shadow of the Dead"), and harmonica ("Go West"), Anti-Flag still don't possess the innate pop sensibility that's allowed Against Me! to make a mainstream move.

Their second B-sides compilation is a clear reflection of that indeliable good cheer. {May 2008, p.94]

They refresh all their tricks, with stripped-down, energetic guitar plus little electronics. [Apr 2008, p.92]

Pretty.Odd lives up to its title because it dares to be optimistically beautiful at a time when sadness and ugliness might have won them easier credibility. [Apr 2008, p.92]

But too often, the Raconteurs' love of twisty, monolithic rock gives way to bombast that teeters between homage and parody.

The Montreal group has never sounded so desperate or epic as on their fifth album's four earth-scorching, quarter-hour compositions.

Get Awkward's forced rhymes and attitude sound almost calculated. [Apr 2008, p.92]

These New Puritans prove the model perfected by New Order ain't dying anytime soon. {Apr 2008, p.106]

The duo's relentless cool never quite tips over into White Stripes-style heat, giving Midnight Boom the unapproachable, icy allure of a runway model. [Mar 2008, p.104]

On Destroyer's eight album, Bejar lives up to his stratospheric self-regard. [Apr 2008, p.94]

A sultry brew of Gypsy, Mexican, and pop ingredients that's adorably silly and unexpectedly moving. [Mar 2008, p.100]

When they ease back on the overdriven electronic intensity, Street Horrsing works tribal, tracelike wonders. [Apr 2008, p.98]

Reality Check vacillates between Serge Gainsbourg's slutty cool and Jonathan's Richman's childlike poignance. [Apr 2008, p.106]

The duo's tinny new-wave pop is spot-on. [May 2008, p.104]

The Odd Couple is basically a more refined "St. Elsewhere," without the rap aberrations or goofy covers that made the debut such a wild, bumpy ride. [Apr 2008, p.91]

Both seem to be having a blast acting out their fantasies,, which makes Volume One consistent fun. [Apr 2008, p.102]

Kath's hooky charms ease the ferocity of singer Alice Glass' panting wails and loopy, sarcastic screams. [Apr 2008, p.94]

The erstwhile Moldy Peaches wears out his welcome at 20 tracks, each one unrelated to the last and haphazardly abandoned around the one-and-a-half minute mark. [Apr 2008, p.98]

The seven minute thriller 'Joe's Waltz' demonstrates their flair for balancing craftmanship and raw emotion. [Apr 2008, p.96]

Laced with bariny raps, cooing backing vocals, and a keen attention to meloncholy melodic detail, Why? almost one-ups those heady precursors [Fountains of Wayne, Rentals]. [Apr 2008, p.106]

That astounding guitar mastery is still evident, but Dreaming seems more interested in evoking deeper moods than showing off. [Mar 2008, p.104]

The beats are subtle, but solid, better suited to a small, late-night party than a major disturbance. [Mar 2008, p.104]

His best in more than 30 years, he teams up with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, and others for songs heavy on rememberance but energized with chin-up horns and strings that'll sound fresh to fans of the Decemberists and Arcade Fire. [Apr 2008, p.92]

These impressionistic songs shudder to life under the weight of passive-agressive feedback, anchored by Bouzulich's melodramatic howl and Tara Barnes' menancing bass. [Apr 2008, p.96]

The British trio's caffinated, smart-ass guitar pop only underscores that aura of snarky confidence. [May 2008, p.111]

A tastefully matured Bauhaus produce enough fractured guitar and howling melodrama to wake the undead.

In those rare moments when they're truely wired, Texas' odd couple bring quirky soul to the music of machines. {mar 2008, p.102]