Grade: A | Genre: Alternative Rock
Summary: No matter how you cut it, this music is awesome. It manages to somehow cheer you up, so it's perfect for when you're in a bad mood. It's also perfect if you're in a good mood.

Before I got this in the mail, my exposure to Secret Machines was pretty limited. I had their bizarre September 000 album (which is good, but not nearly as good as this), and I knew they were originally from Dallas. I realized a while ago that Texan indie bands are much better than anybody would expect them to be, so I told myself I should check them out. Unfortunately, there's an impossibly large amount of music out there and I have a limited amount of America bucks and Internet. I'm glad the mail still works, because I probably never would have gotten around to listening to this if it didn't. That would have been a crying shame, because it's real good.

Grade: A- | Genre: Rock/Pop/Dance
Summary: A Fever You Can't Sweat Out marries rocktastic beats with a dance floor that refuses to silence the pulse of gyrating bodies. These songs are the fuel to the fire.

Rock may try on as many different variations as Michael Jackson's face, but you can always guarantee it will never be too far removed from its kissing cousin addictive pop. Be it Foo Fighters or recent radio fodder Fall Out Boy, creating that surefire radio hook is the key to cementing your tune in the minds of the fickle music listening public. Usually I lampoon these ruthless media hounds for feeding the soulless music machine, but every so often you run across an artist that wrestles this pale formula to the ground to grind up some quality where you were certain that none existed. The smart band that has done the unthinkable is Las Vegas quartet Panic! at the Disco. They are the first band signed to Pete Wentz's (Fall Out Boy) Decaydance Records, and their debut effort A Fever You Can't Sweat Out marries rocktastic beats with a dance floor that refuses to silence the pulse of gyrating bodies. These songs are the fuel to the fire.

Grade: A | Genre: "The production is progressive, but the reason is retro. The chords are cold-blooded murder. I named it neo-necro." (From "Necromancer")
Summary: For now, Gnarls Barkley will just be the newest and most eccentric act to stir your musical senses. They are primed to break the mold like Gorillaz did and should be on your radar. My only complaint...what took so long?

Review: DJ Danger Mouse became infamous for brilliantly mixing Jay-Z's Black Album over The Beatles White Album. With support from Jay Z himself, The Grey Album (free download), as it is appropriately called, buzzed the underground and created a strong cult following that included trend setters like Gorillaz who tapped Mouse to produce the follow up to their self-titled debut. The end product, Demon Days, torched the competition and created wannabes out of those that everyone wanted to be.

Now, DJ Danger Mouse teams with Cee Lo, from the "Dirty South's" Goodie Mob, to create Gnarls Barkely. Both are respected in their own right individually, but when you combine the two, you get an epidemic of gnarly beats over retro vocals that feel postmodern at the same time. Imagine Marvin Gaye heading up Outkast at their most inventive and you're only three quarters of the way to what Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere has become.

Grade: A | Genre: Brit Punk/Pop
Summary: Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I Am Not is a first class ticket to life in all its dirty, fast paced charm. Lets hope the filthy riches of success, that the music buying public are showering them with, doesn't make these blue collar chaps forget what made them hungry to begin with.

The new punk is alive and thriving in rock. Just look at the explosive popularity of bands like the Killers and Franz Ferdinand if you are fishing for proof. These hard-hitting popsters come packing nostalgic lunchboxes and a newborn's love for the Clash. Many bands have latched onto these lucrative coattails, hoping to cash in on this ticket to honeys and the bling. Inevitably, we hit saturation point where we've just heard enough. They need to prop a sign up saying go sell crazy some place else cause we're all full. Then we have a band come along called the Arctic Monkeys. Funky name aside, they are plying their bleeding guitars and drum assault in this same space, but it sounds amazingly fresh and exciting. Almost like the revolution was waiting for a new scrappy hero to take it to the next level. These indie rockers are definitely taking the music world by storm. Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I Am Not cracked the UK and the Australian charts at number 1 in its first week of release. This accomplishment is unheard of from a band without a major label backing them with a barrage of advertising and paying DJs under the table to make their newest golden boy into a household name. They did it the old fashion way through touring, building a fanbase via the Internet and playing catchy as hell music that has to be passed along to a friend.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Alt-Country
Summary: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood marks Neko Case's most accomplished album recorded to date. It's fat in its maturity and drunk with its love for the music.

How many people can say they've been permanently blackballed from playing the Grand Ole Opry for being obscene? The historic venue that launched such country legends as Hank Williams and Patsy Cline slapped that distinction on one Neko Case back in 2001 when she finished her set topless. The fiery haired beauty says she wasn't trying to court controversy with her breast-baring move. A girl gets hot up there under the spotlights. Since the headlining event, Case has gone on to cement a solid solo career, singing her own unique blend of country, blues and gospel heisted from a time long past. She's also doubling up vocal responsibilities as the lead female vocalist of the super group the New Pornographers, an entity starting to make some major waves of its own. Soon Neko will probably get jammed in a crossroads where she's forced to choose between the quirky loops of the Pornographers or devoting herself completely to her burgeoning solo work. Until then we'll chug both of them down our ears and try not to loiter our thoughts too long on pondering such a day.

Grade: A | Genre: Brit Rock
Summary: The Kooks debut, Inside In Inside Out is a fun record by a fun band with a fun name. They're punk with modern rock flare who don't have to hope that their music will be adored by the in-the-know masses because it just will.

Named after the 5th track on David Bowie's Hunky Dory, The Kooks are the latest and probably the most promising new Brit rock band to come out since Bloc Party. A "skuzzy fresh faced group" (so they like to describe themselves), this foursome are a highly energetic unit full of thrills and youthful vigor. Listening to these lads, you feel a sense of rejuvenation and empowered youth, and you're proud that you're still cool enough to have heard of a band that most have not.

Inside In [and] Inside out, The Kooks have a debut that brightens an English scene full of mopey rock stars with tissue paper stuffed down their jocks. Lighten up Chris Martin because Luke Pritchard (vocal, guitars), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Max Rafferty (bass guitar), and Paul Garred (drums) are bringing it with their mix of alt rock sprinkled over punk-ish bravado.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Rock
Summary: She Wants Revenge debut disk shows extra helpings of promise. Its not going to change the way you look at music, but it will help you get lost in a sound so old that its new again.

Truly original voices in music today are damn near extinct. What artist can really say they haven't melded a lifetime of influences to sculpt their sound? At best, you have a well-textured vision, running along a vibe another band has already gotten us comfortable with. At worst, you have a carbon copy, knock-off that might as well play local dives as a blah cover band. When your ears first become acquainted with She Wants Revenge, its impossible to not take a beeline straight to Interpol. Yet Interpol is basically just a derivative of Joy Division with a smack of Depeche Mode. As you dig further into She Wants Revenge's sonic cache, you see touches of David Bowie, a flicker of the Cure and even contemporaries like Lake Trout. Shoot, the band's name even sounds like it was cherry picked off a track on a Joy Division album. This amalgamation of sound mesh together to form an enticing album that can't stake its claim on originality, but knows how to maximize the tools at its musical forefathers.

Grade: A | Genre: Indie Rock
Summary: They scrubbed away the surface of ultra-hate to reveal music both dark and extremely passionate. The Great Destroyer could well be their masterpiece.

Known primarily as purveyors of exceedingly slow, molecule-halting tunes labeled as slowcore, Low has gradually moved towards a bigger and more complex sound that can safely be shelved with other serious rockers of the day. The Great Destroyer fills the room with music that is lyrically engaging and sonically captivating. Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker deliver another serving of their remarkable vocals surrounded this time by a backdrop of gorgeously heavy guitars.

Grade: A+ | Genre: Alt-Country
Summary: Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy is in everybody's top ten list for 2005, but the EP they released this November seems destined to be a collector's item.

Since I'm a Texan, I'm biased towards any music that comes out of my state. So I love it when I hear music that allows me to speak in absolutes like "Stevie Ray Vaughan is the best guitar player ever" and "Chamillionaire is the best rapper alive". Both of those statements are 100% true, and so is this one: Black Sheep Boy Appendix is the best EP you will ever hear. I feel comfortable making that statement because I don't think many of you are going to go on EP-buying sprees to prove me wrong. Oh yeah, and because it's absolutely amazing.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Indie Pop
Summary: With two well-crafted releases behind them, and the positive buzz growing around them, The High Violets could find themselves on many playlists in the coming year.

On To Where You Are, The High Violets second long player, vocalist Kaitlyn Ni Donovan has taken over as fulltime lead vocalist, giving guitarist Clint Sargent the freedom to concentrate on building a thick canvas of sound for the singer to set her wispy voice against. The result is something that would be at home next to copies of old Curve, Slowdive, Lush or Cocteau Twins releases. More pop friendly than any of those bands ever managed to be; The High Violets seem poised to make indie/pop crossover history.

Grade: A | Genre: Country/Rock/Blues
Summary: The Legend of Johnny Cash is a the perfect introduction to an American icon. It seems a shame that he had to travel to the great beyond before many of us cleaned out our ears to hear this sweet music.

It's been two years since we marked the passing of one of music's true legends, Mr. Johnny Cash. With his signature head-to-toe black garb and the deep vocal stamp he planted on his songs, he created an unmistakable presence that won't be matched. His passing has stirred up a string of compilations and the fabulous biopic Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. If you haven't had the extreme pleasure, be sure to catch one of this year's best films. As ashamed as I am to admit it, in his living years Cash was never more than a name to me. He was a larger than life persona, and I had my foolish preconceived notions of what he was -- country. To peg him in that tired old genre is like saying Moby makes dance music because of a single you once heard on the radio. Both artists are so much more than the convenient categories we try to file them away in. One of the year's best compilations is The Legend of Johnny Cash. It is a sharp collection that captures the heart and spirit of a man who gave so much to music.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Holday/Vocal Jazz
Summary: Diana Krall fulfills her tremendous promise that jazz aficionados have sensed was simmering in her for many moons. She's given us reason to get giddy about Christmas music again.

It was the week before Thanksgiving, and I was at the local outlet mall looking to beat the Christmas shopping madness. Though I managed to escape the feeding frenzy, there is no escaping the Christmas music. They already had it going strong in every store I ducked into as if there were hypnotic suggestions woven into the lyrics to assist us in loosening our wallets. Now I don't have a problem with Christmas music on the whole. Nat King Cole, Harry Connick, Alvin & the Chipmunks are artists clearly meant to accent the season. My issue is that you have a couple hundred songs getting played over and over and over again like some demented Santa's top 40. I still wake up in cold sweats trying to escape the hour loop of modern Christmas tunes, needled into me from doing an ill-advised stint at the GAP one holiday season. So though Christmas music should be avoided like the plague, there are a handful of "must have" disks to tone down the chaos of family dinners, serenade present opening, or perhaps be the seduction mix of your role-playing as Santa and the bad elf.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Prog-Rock
Summary: Hopefully, with re-masters like Fool's Mate (and many others too plentiful to mention) the public will get a better picture of art-rock instead of immediately thinking that mediocre groups like Styx, Kansas, and Queen were the be-all and end-all of this much maligned rock form.

Released in 1971, Peter Hammill's first solo outing; Fool's Mate showcased a somewhat different side of Van Der Graaf Generator's front man. Less ponderous than VDGG's offerings, Fool's Mate gathers together a dozen songs written in the mid-sixties by Hammill (for the most part) and brought to life with the help of his fellow band mates.

The tunes vary from whimsical nonsense like "Imperial Zeppelin" to atmospheric tone poems like "Viking." Hammill's piano playing and acoustic guitar work are both expressive, even when sparse. As for his voice, there is little of the bellowing and shrieking that fills albums like Pawn Hearts. These songs are more along the line of "Refugees" from 1970's The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Prog-Rock
Summary: Van Der Graaf Generator labored in obscurity virtually their entire career leaving behind one of musicdom's strangest catalogues of sound. Godbluff is a great bit of prog-rock history getting its due.

In the early seventies, just around the time that everyone began to go disco crazy, there were a faithful few who refused to give up on the majesty and pomp of their beloved art-rock. Bands like Caravan, Gentle Giant and Strawbs proudly waved the flag of pretension, but it was on Britain's Famous Charisma Label that two of the most overblown progressive rock bands offered up to the masses their gloriously twisted idea of music. One band, Genesis, after a string of brilliant oddball releases, went onto huge popularity when they lost the groups leading visionary, Peter Gabriel. The other band, Van Der Graaf Generator (named after American physicist Robert Van de Graaf's high voltage invention) labored in obscurity virtually their entire career leaving behind one of musicdom's strangest catalogues of sound.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Alt-Southern-Rock
Summary: Whether or not super stardom is in their future remains to be seen, but as long as they continue to mature with their music (and they will) brighter days are still ahead.

If Neil Young suddenly went Alt-Southern-Rock, he would be heading up the Louisville Kentucky quintet, My Morning Jacket. Widely known within indie circles, mainstream audiences my have noticed their alter-ego, Ruckus, performing Skynrd's southern fried classic "Freebird" in Cameron Crowe's latest melodrama, Elizabethtown. Missteps aside, their fourth full length album, Z, has been creating a mild stir on the CMJ retail charts with their meshing of sounds spanning the music spectrum from reggae to R&B to ambient...all under a sourthern rock umbrella. With more keyboards, sturdier guitar riffs and the freedom to experiement, Z takes the jacket off My Morning Jacket to reveal a band who's not afraid to challenge themselves and their audience.

Grade: A- | Genre: Blues/Soul/Rock
Summary: While Try! isn't the perfect disk, it is one juiced with daring, flinging the doors of possibility open for John and his fellow troubadours.

Its really nice to see a talented musician reach the point where he can bust out of the chains the music machine has wrapped him in to become what he was truly meant to be. It's not easy to give your carefully buffed, Grammy winning, multi-platinum image the finger to begin charting a new destination. That is effectively what John Mayer has done in forming the John Mayer Trio. He's letting his inner soul brother hog the mic. He's feelin' the blues right through to the tips of his hair. Anyone who has seen him in concert could sense the winds of change were coming. There are those defining moments where he just trails off in a song like "Neon" and, with the audience about to rip the roof off the auditorium, he shares this quiet space with his guitar where everything else is simply the static of life. That's John at his purest and for the first time, with Try!, I think we are afforded an unfiltered look into the musician's soul. It's not the slick pop tart Mayer we've come to know, but the man at his most honest.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Rock/Jazz/Blues
Summary: Thompson has created a very compelling disk in Black Yankee Rock. The music housed within the covers spouts forth powerfully expressive emotion and a sound that can only be described as some tangled mess of rock eating jazz birthing soul.

So say you're surfing through the never ending slacks of disks at your favorite hip music store. Suddenly, you run across an album plastered with the controversial Confederate flag, painted in black, green, yellow and red. The album just happens to be curiously entitled Black Yankee Rock. Now what do you think you're getting yourself into when you slide this bad boy into the CD player? Marc Anthony Thompson, or Chocolate Genius Inc if you prefer, is the man responsible for this interesting assembly of improbable partners of image and words. The music housed within the covers is just as complex, spouting forth powerfully expressive emotion and a sound that can only be described as some tangled mess of rock eating jazz birthing soul. It doesn't apologize for being unconventional. It revels in it.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Hard Rock/Metal
Summary: Through all the troubles they've had recently, Sevendust has come through and made a great album that only has a few problems that can easily be remedied in the future.

After the decidedly riff-free and depressing Seasons failed to make an impact with rock fans, metal heroes Sevendust were at a loss. With label TVT wanting them to make a radio-friendly album and subsequently showing no support, plus guitarist Clint Lowery leaving the band to create Dark new Day with old friends, the future looked bleak for the Atlanta-based metal band.

Instead of giving in, they recruited their old friend Sonny Mayo (formerly of Snot), changed labels (Universal-owned Winedark), took some of the lessons they learned from Seasons and incorporated their more traditional breakdowns and chainsaw-sounding riffs to make the appropriately titled Next.

Grade: A- | Genre: Electronic
Summary: Nobody likes lounge music. But when you add some keyboard work that totally doesn't make you gag and some wonderful hip-hop beats, you've got solid gold. It's something that isn't anything like lounge music.

When I think of French music, the only things that come to mind are that little "Muffin Man" song (which is in no way related to France) and the accordion. These two stupid little mental associations will forever be overshadowed by General Elektriks. Things you should know about General Elektriks:

* It's a one-man band. Herve Salters is some kind of crazy keyboard genius that has performed for Blackalicious, Maroons, Femi Kuti, etc.
* It's a Quannum Project. Jackpot!
* French people are awesome.

Grade: A- | Genre: Brit Rock
Summary: Elbow is able to inject clever, light hearted lyrics to soften the bluntness of a broken heart. It's a collection of pessimism in search of a cure.

After being dropped by Island Records within a year of being signed in 1998 and then again by EMI within just a couple of months, vocalist Guy Garvey, drummer Richard Jupp, organist Craig Potter, guitarist Mark Potter, and bassist Pete Turner, rolled up their sleeves and took Elbow to indie label, Uglyman. After two released EP's, Newborn and Any Day Now, the quintet garnered critical acclaim and a brand new contract with the major UK label, V2. Their debut, 2001's Asleep in the Back, was a nominee for the Mecury Prize and gave the band the attention it deserved. It's quite a leap for a band in whom no one had any faith.

Now, just a year after their successful follow-up, Cast of Thousands, Elbow is back with their ambitious 3rd release, Leaders of the Free World. Recorded in the BLUE ROOM at Blueprint Studios with their media artist mates, The Soup Collective, Leaders took shape in an environment of hidden cameras, toys, computers and mystery. The final product is a low-lit work of blissful exuberance in its most understated form. File these boys in with Coldplay, Doves, etc. if you must, but let it be known that these Brits are Elbow-ing (pardon the pun) their way to the forefront of the Brit Rock Movement.

Grade: A- | Genre: Progressive Rock
Summary: The sparse verses are down right tame, but when flowing through Tom Smith's pipes they seem more profound than if one were to read them off a lyric sheet.

Still waiting for the Killers to trump their immensely successful Hot Fuss, or is Franz Ferdinand's latest, You could Have It So Much Better, not enough? Editors are the latest British export to play their hand at the synthesized post-modern punk rock movement with their debut, The Back Room. Originally dubbed Snowfield, singer/guitarist Tom Smith, lead guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, bassist Russell Leetch, and drummer Ed Lay, are energetic upstarts who have crafted a crisp production of haunting melodies and tireless aggression. This is an indie band with real mainstream flare and are apt to take over the world...or atleast your iPod.

Grade: A | Genre: Brit Rock
Summary: You Could Have It So Much Better is pure fun locked in a CD case.

You'd think that after surviving an explosion of success, it would cause a group of guys to kick back and milk that puppy for every dollar its worth. Not the Scottish working class lads of Franz Ferdinand. A year and a half after their stunning debut captured the esteemed Mercury Prize and their hit single "Take Me Out" splattered over the airwaves, Franz is back packing so much heat its likely to singe your eyebrows. You Could Have It So Much Better is a tasty treat fueled by a battalion of slick beats with disco's shimmer and punk's snarl. Get ready for Franz Ferdinand to take you out and rip you up.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Underground Hip-Hop
Summary: Do you love instrumental hip-hop, old soul samples, and Def Jux? If so, check out Deadringer. If not, you probably aren't cool enough anyway.

Rjd2's music seriously sounds like it belongs in Speed Racer. I never thought a comment like that could be used as a compliment, but in this case it is. It's a kind of old-school type (mostly) instrumental hip-hop that still sounds refreshing; however, Rjd2 is certainly a crate-digger and his samples have a lo-fi, aged sound to them. DJs have been sampling like this since the dawn of scratching, and Rjd2 isn't really breaking new ground. But he's definitely more fun to listen to than the typical wrist-breaking wakka-wakka DJs that get all the attention.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Brit Rock
Summary: Hard-Fi is definitely better than the surface level tunes of the Bravery yet still needs to knock back a couple more pints to reach the cover-to-cover brilliance of Franz Ferdinand.

The Mercury Prize for 2005 has officially come and gone with little known Antony and the Johnsons taking home the honors. While it is certainly a curious little effort, I don't think it necessarily rises to the level of it's competition: Bloc Party, Coldplay, M.I.A., Kaiser Chiefs or KT Tunstall. Today, we wrap our coverage of the nominees by featuring the band that fell a mere one vote shy of the £10,000 prize and international notoriety it carries. Hard-Fi is a group that prescribes to the new New Wave mold filled by bands like Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight and the Killers. These guys proudly don their Members Only jackets and cram their plastic Pac-man lunch boxes full of Fruit Roll-ups and mighty mellon Capri Sun. Everything old is new again, which is strangely comforting.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Folk/Soul/Rock
Summary: Life In Slow Motion, though not the head turner that White Ladder was, totally stands on its own and is an album to be proud of. It lingers and waits for the right moment to imprint itself in your senses...if you're willing to give it the time.

When David Gray came out from nowhere with his sleeper hit, "Babylon," in early Spring of 2000, no one stateside could tell you whom the raspy voice piloting the folk soul fusion belonged to. Originally touted as a Dave Matthews discovery (luckily we didn't hold it against him), Gray's little tune caught on and went from sleeper to our generation's anthem of love and rejuvenation. With that, came immense popularity for his fifth record, White Ladder, that has inevitably become more of a burden than a blessing. To this day, "Babylon" still shadows him everywhere he goes and has become a scale by which all subsequent works are measured, including 2002's disappointing, A New Day At Midnight.

Grade: A | Genre: Electro-Pop
Summary: Twin Cinema is totally self conscious free pop, that is challenging and piles on the layers of sound, creating a enticing buffet for the listener to slowly strip away.

Is there a musical scene more on fire right now than the Montreal scene? After spending years profusely apologizing for setting Bryan Adams and Celien Dion loose on the world, Canada is showcasing some of the best up-and-coming indie talent from this powerhouse featuring the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Stars, Wolf Parade (review coming at the end of the month), and their Vancouver neighbors the New Pornographers. The Pornographers are a nine-member ensemble (yes that's a few more than their previous outings) that utilizes those stray extra members to give us a big sound filled with quirk and blessed intrigue. These musical purveyors bring us their most ambitious effort to date in the sparkling Twin Cinema.

Grade: A- | Genre: Emo
Summary: While Plans falls a shade shy of the shining brilliance of Transatlanticism, it is still a mesmerizing effort to consume. Fans worried that the group's indie soul would be squeezed out the moment the pen hit the dotted line can stop wringing their hands. They are the same group of ordinary guys playing extraordinary music.

It seems everyone has been sitting around awaiting the new saviors of rock 'n roll since grunge carted off its chunky boots and sweltering flannel. Lots of wannabe contenders have tried to make their mark yet ended up dribbling off into the high-pitched distortion. The one that seems to have the strongest shot at resurrecting rock is this delicate fusion of rock with electronic sensibilities, supported by emotionally barring lyrics. Emo in other words. When you take a hard look at bands like the Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie, it's hard to argue that the future of rock could be in better hands. These bands value the rich artistry above all else and find their souls floating amongst the dense melodies. Death Cab returns to the party with their masterful Plans which asks the forefathers of this new musical frontier if they are ready to lead us into rock's promised land.

Grade: A | Genre: Hip-Hop
Summary: West detractors will have to wait until his next LP if they hope to see the producer/rapper with the biggest mouth in Hip-Hop today fall miserably on his face. He's the man you love to hate, but whose jamz you crank cruising down the street.

When Hip-Hop artists look for banging beats, they go to Kanye West. The producer extraordinaire has been behind the success of major hits by Jay Z, Ludacris and Common. Little did we know that West was even more potent behind the mic as a cunning lyricist able to slice through his nay sayers with razor sharp precision. He's boldly egotistical and never shies away from voicing opinions of his own greatness. He walks with a swagger bigger than that of the Gallagher Brothers and fears no one.

The College Dropout returns to school those who claim his initial success was a mere fluke and that anything beyond his debut will prove to be his demise. No such luck this time around because Late Registration is a sophomore effort full of soul and attitude that kicks all his competition to the curb. College Dropout was pretty damn good in its own right, but Late Registration is beyond anything that Dropout hoped to be. This is an album that outdoes its predecessor and stakes West's claim as the top dog in Hip-Hop.

Grade: A- | Genre: Folk/Pop
Summary: Eye to the Telescope is an emotionally barring work that will show you her soul yet socks you in the jaw if you tarnish it's sincerity.

This year's list of Mercury Prize nominees is a distinguished and artistically varied lot. Take your pick from the new wave resurrection Kaiser Chiefs to the rap/dance/cultural attache M.I.A and the spacey mysticism of Coldplay to the hard-hitting Bloc Party. You can't say the nominating crew doesn't like to keep their music interesting. Well add one more notch to that musical belt as we introduce folk sensation KT Tunstall. She is a Scottish import molded in the tradition of folk icons Carole King, Rickie Lee Jones and Stevie Nicks. Her debut Eye to the Telescope is an emotionally barring work that will show you her soul yet socks you in the jaw if you tarnish it's sincerity.

Grade: A- | Genre: Electronic Chill
Summary: The Understanding is a very impressive effort that leaves you hesistant to leave this plush cosmic universe Royksopp has created.

It has been three years since Royksopp quietly shifted through the silence, presenting the beautiful atmospheric effort Melody A.M. Now the Norweigan duo of Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge venture into those uncertain waters of the sophomore electronic chill effort, which can prove a formidable task. Just ask the French boys of Air. The Understanding shows they are brimming for the challenge, snapping out of the box with enigmatic dance beats, Zip-loc bags of captured quiet and catchy pop melodies that beg to have their energies channeled through radio. Prepare yourselves because I think Royksopp is ready to break themselves all over your world.

Grade: A- | Genre: Hip-hop/Dance
Summary: File this under smart dance music that you can crank obscenely loud while having those few beers, greasing the inhibitions, before going out.

M.I.A's Arular is an album that has aroused a lot of wayward glances among indie rock followers. M.I.A. is Maya Arul, a Sri Lankan-born Londoner whose sound has a unique blend of hip-hop and dance. Now hip-hop is about as compelling to me as a watching fingernails grow. I just don't get the appeal and happily leave those reviews for others to pick through. M.I.A. is stirring up so much talk because of how she is throwing out the rules of these tired genres and starting anew. The experiment is working as the collective acclaim threatens to burst the floodgates. This album is currently topping Amazon's editors list of the best albums of 2005 thus far. Arular has also made the short list for Britain's ultra prestigious Mercury Prize, sharing time with the latest works from such lofty artists like Coldplay, Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs. So what is so special about this lone girl?

Grade: A- | Genre: Rock
Summary: In Your Honor is a great celebration of 10 strong years of consistent music making, and there seems to be no end in site for the Foo Fighters.

The Foo Fighters are one of the best and most consistent American bands still rockin' the big stage. Coming out from behind the drum kit after Nirvana's demise, Dave Grohl surprised us all with a not only his pipes, but also his musical chops. With the addition of Alanis Morisette's former drummer, Taylor Hawkins to take over the sticks, the Foo Fighters have become a band known for taking their music very seriously but humorously not themselves.

After 10 years of solid musical performances they're back with their 5th album, In Your Honor, which continues the streak of refined vocals and polished pop rock anthems. Foo Fighters can bring the noise as well as show an edgy sensitive side. In Your Honor is so much music that they had to split it up into 2 disks; one full of hard rock jamz and the other, slower paced acoustic sessions. It's a celebration of the band's longevity as well as a prelude to the years ahead.

Grade: A+ | Genre: Acid Jazz/Progressive
Summary: This is an album that not only builds on what the debut started, but surpasses it in every way.

Finally, seven years after the phenomenally beautiful Breath From Another, Esthero returns to satisfy a craving for which all who own and love her debut have been patiently waiting. Breath helped forward the Acid Jazz movement when it was at its peak of must have music, but since then, the fire has fickled and we're left wondering if she was just a fling or something worth the wait.

However, Esthero hasn't been completely out of site and out of mind. With sparse appearances on notable tracks with the Black Eyed Peas and on the Go Soundtrack, she has left us with a lasting taste in our mouths while hoping that a second full length effort is in the works. The wait is at last over as Wikked Lil' Grrrls is the result of an overdue sophomore release and a reward for our perseverance.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Quiet
Summary: It's a beautiful work by an evolving songwriter, not afraid to slip into the evening gown of change and show it off to the ball.

Listening to music is like getting involved in a relationship. The first time you meet a new album; you bring with you all the baggage of a lifetime worth of listening. You factor in how it measures up to the artist's previous albums (the ex factor), how they fit in amongst other artists plying their trade in the same genre (other potential hotties) and your particular tastes and affinities (your thing for blondes). It is a lot for any artist to live up to and, depending on when they hit us, we may start thinking marriage and children or just stop calling. Should we stumble across her a couple years later, or even a couple weeks, you may hear a completely different album. Yes, the notes are the identical and the harmony speaks from the same voice, but you aren't the same listener that you were in that moment that you first queued it up. For example, Depeche Mode's Songs of Faith and Devotion was an album that left a bitter taste in my mouth on first listen. Years later, I gave it another try and instantly loved it. Such is the case with Emiliana Torrini's Fisherman's Woman. When I first heard this several weeks ago, I was ready to dismiss it as the best over the counter sleep aid on the market. Today...

Grade: B+ | Genre: Electronica/Acid Jazz
Summary: Nomad Songs is an album worthy of your "Chill" collection and will be there for you when you need to unwind and take things easy. Pour a glass of wine and let go.

Berlin 6-piece jazzy ensemble (vocalist Lisa Bassenge, guitarist Boris Meinhold, keyboardist Sebastian Demmin, double bassist Paul Kleber, drummer Tim Kroker and producer DJ Rogall) aren't new to the industry with earlier releases, Ninesongs and Is You Is. However, on their third and latest album, Nomad Songs, they've decided to forgo their evolving electronica sound in favor of a more live approach with "tracks that work both plugged in and unplugged." Where they once took advantage of studio production time, Nomad has since become an organic mix of Billie Holiday meets Erykah Badu with a touch of The Cardigan's Nina Persson over live instruments and down tempo melodies. Don't blink because you may just miss this gem. Micatone is not a band poised to break the sound barrier or the mainstream, but they are an impressive addition to your eclectic collection that will win you plenty of cool points.

Grade: A | Genre: Indie Rock
Summary: This album is a genre fusing, manic dancing, crazy kaleidoscope of sounds that are mesmerizing in their strangeness.

It's a cool summer evening like any other in the mountains of West Virginia. Beneath the pine branches rests an old one-room church where residents have gathered to lift snakes to the sky and shake their frenzied tambourines as they sing their ancient gospel melodies. While this sight is about as usual in northern Deliverance country as a Waffle House waitress minus a handful of teeth, what is peculiar is the man sitting in the back row diligently taking notes. He looks so dark and stately with his long hair under the dapper bowler hat that he could pass for the dark lord himself. As you squint closer, the lines pull together as you begin to make out a face. Could it be Jack White? What could rock's eccentric savior be doing keeping company with this lot? Inspiration seems to bloom in strange places as Mr. White delivers his most daring, quirky and satisfying work on Get Behind Me Satan.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Hip Hop
Summary: Common is staking his claim on a niche that everyone else seems to have forgotten about. Be doesn't need to be front and center, but when discovered, is where we all want to Be.

Contrary to his name, Common (formerly known as Common Sense) isn't like the mainstream rappers that currently clutter the airwaves. His style is more about substance than the bling bling flare that blinds us from the more innovative artists poised to progress the genre than to set it back. Emerging from the gangsta rap of the 90's, Common has always been able to keep his lyrical style sophisticated and literate. His latest, Be, continues the Common flow and is yet again a change of pace from the same old bland hip hop mantra being shoved down our throats.

Grade: A+ | Genre: Hip Hop/Progressive Rock
Summary: Demon Days, "side project" or not, takes risks and is able to present a work of incomparable brilliance. In this reviewer's eyes, the pressure is definitely off the Gorillaz to produce an album capable of changing ones fortunes.

Four years ago, you couldn't escape the Gorillaz' infectious hit, "Clint Eastwood," from their self-titled debut. It was the slacker jam of Summer 2001, and you can still hear its meandering piano chords while Del tha Funkee Homosapien took you for a ride you've never before been on.

Conceived as the first "virtual hip-hop group," the quirky bunch of cartoon MC's are back with their latest, Demon Days, and continue to push the limits of Hip Hop and Prog Rock. With the blended contributions of De La Soul, Shaun Ryder, Debbie Harry, Dennis Hopper, and Martina Topley-Bird, Demon Days spotlights the Gorillaz' out-the-box thinking and genre blurring talents.

Grade: A+ | Genre: Brit Rock
Summary: So what's the "Truth" anyway? Is it that Oasis is washed up and beyond their prime as some may have believed? Maybe the real truth is that Don't Believe The Truth may be the album that's remembered in 2005 over the much delayed X&Y from Coldplay.

The Big Brit Rock Monster (try saying that 10 times) has reared it's progressive head and has its sights set on the musically dry US soil. This is turning out to be its year to shine with recent hit releases from Doves and Bloc Party. However, as great as Some Cities and Silent Alarm were/are, they are mere warm-ups to eminent blockbusters coming from the likes of Coldplay and today's top focus, Oasis. The time is ripe for music lovers as these big bands are rewarding loyal fans with their even bigger albums.

It's been three years since the moderately successful, Heathen Chemistry (did it even chart stateside?), and the Gallagher brothers are back and quick to tell anyone who get in their faces that they haven't lost a f*cking step. The egocentric and self-loving wankers still have the fire to knock us on our arse with their high swagger and pompous egos. They don't do much to win us over, nor do they care, but damn if they don't make great music. Don't Believe the Truth is a wake up call for all those critics who accused them of "losing it" and aims to splash water on Coldplay's over hyped pre-release campaign.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Alternative Pop
Summary: It doesn't have the stellar breakthrough songs that shifted Magnolia into everyone's line of sight, but it really doesn't need them. It offers us a winding story without a single track that can be overlooked.

Here is an interesting mental picture to doodle into your brain. Take the rather waifish, sensitive songwriter, Aimee Mann, strap on a pair of the boxing gloves, then let her loose to beat the crap out of someone. No, this isn't just another metaphor to support her heavyweight concept album The Forgotten Arm, this is Mann's new passion -- boxing. I say all the more power to you sister. Her workout routine that has transformed into her burning obsession is the fuel for the ideas of this new stellar work. Look out Hillary Swank. We've got a new feisty contender stepping through the ropes.