[A] decisive step in a darker, weirder direction.

Harper performs his knock-offs so earnestly you'd think he were resuscitating some forgotten art, rather than aping tunes that are played 24/7 on oldies radio.

An intelligent brew of bare-bones Casio drumbeats, static-driven guitar lines and widescreen arrangements.

As Higden struggles to make his way to the forefront, his bandmates appear greedy, desperately reaching for moments of startling stateliness -- much to the detriment of the songs themselves, which are lost in an atmospheric morass with delusions of (Radiohead) grandeur written all over it.

Soft pop isn't everyone's favorite genre, and there are those who will find Soft Commands too sweet for comfort Still, even at its most pop-friendly moments, there's enough muscle and intelligence here to keep the album from cloying.

The Ladybug Transistor's relative lack of instrumental bravado suggests renewed confidence; the group doesn't make an obvious attempt to hook us with atmosphere or instrumental stunts, because the album already has enough going on to keep us listening.

Wine drinkers' music, you might say -- likeable, pleasant, but lacking in consuming, driving passion.

Mitchell is a skilled producer, weaving a tangle of complex melodies and countermelodies, rhythms and accents, into a vibrant tapestry; there's a lot more going on in these songs than you can pick up in one pass.

The Anomoanon's vibe, despite their sometime sunniness, is more Led than Dead, but they bring it firmly into the twenty-first century.

Another eclectic, bold and idiosyncratic concoction of modern jazz.

It's as enlightened and as interesting as Ministry has been in years.

The band has revealed a seething, visceral, rocking side of their music.... a shimmering Album Of The Year contender.

A truly solid album.

An album riddled with unbreathable energy and high-strung despair.

It is simple, winding, hypnotic and beautiful, and it makes being human bearable for a while -- without in any way detracting from its essential tragedy.

Yes, then, Arab Strap are a terrific band, with possibilities that seem infinite. Still, I am certain that the songs on The Red Thread could have been better if the group had bypassed its trademark vocal style and actually played along with the lyrics, singing as if something in the lives of its characters were at stake.

Les Savy Fav is quite conscious of what you want, and they keenly deliver the goods on their latest batch of solid tunes.

Wonderland is the sound of a band embracing and then discarding its past in order to forge ahead into a new tomorrow.... Undoubtedly one of the group's finest recorded moments.

They hit all the right notes and create the right hooks for success, at least in theory, but for all the passion in Jake Snider's voice, he might as well be singing about the ham sandwich he ate for lunch.

One of the most playful end-of-the-world concept albums ever created.

Not Them, You brims with all the bravado and swagger that its title suggests.

There's nothing wrong with her performance -- it's just undistinguished.

How Animals Move is a strange and uneven but ultimately captivating effort by a talented musician/composer.

Teenage Fanclub has absorbed the Britpop successes and failures of the past decade and made an album that celebrates everything that can go right when musicians listen to far too many Beatles records.

Harmless and happy, with an underbelly of serious sadness, Keep it Together dares to be average, and comes out sounding and feeling pretty decent.

This is an odd album, weirdly compelling and madly frustrating.

Like their NYC peers Liars and the Rapture, HHH are adept at fusing dancefloor polemics with angular guitar atmospherics, yet their sound lacks the sweat-soaked sexual ardor that those groups flaunt so remorselessly.

England's Saloon combine the post punk rhythms of Stereolab with the poppiness of The Sundays, creating a melodically soothing murmur that, while derivative, is very enticing.