1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

On 2003's Coverage, Mandy Moore showed she had good taste -- covering XTC, Joni Mitchell, Joe Jackson, etc. -- but artistically, she was still stuck in a candy-pop bubble. Now, on her fifth album, she finally tries to tell her own story, with co-writing help from singer/songwriters Rachael Yamagata and Lori McKenna, as well as Boston folk-pop duo the Weepies.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

Sure, "Vocal A meets Music B" DJ blends are tossed-off gimmicks most of the time, but in those rare moments when the gimmick clicks, the party immediately kicks into another gear.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

After nearly a decade of summoning Buzzcocks and Daniel Johnston, this drums-and-guitar duo has finally mastered the art of insulting our intelligence with sweetness and charm (esteemed critic Richard Meltzer decries all rock bands in the liner notes, naming the Bugs the "lone exception").

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

On James Jackson Toth's (allegedly) final album under the Wooden Wand moniker, the New York singer/songwriter mewls that he's been a "busy honeybee in a bucket of tar" (and considering that he's recorded 20-plus records with the freak-folk collective the Vanishing Voice already this century, that's a lot of goop).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

On their second album in less than two years, this melodic Tennessee foursome deliver everything that a group of new-school mall punks angling for the big time should -- massive guitar riffs, sweetly infectious choruses, and soaring power ballads that are sure to get some play at this year's winter formal.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

The antidepressant industry would be in serious trouble if troubled souls could just absorb the melodic elation of this stunning debut. Under the leadership of multi-instrumentalist Graham Van Pelt, Miracle Fortress' jubilant indie pop effortlessly integrates cuddly mammalian coos, cottony guitar fuzz, and gentle falsetto choruses.