1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

"I need a change of skin," cries Brian Molko on "Kitty Litter," the lead track of this London trio's sixth album. And along come veteran alt-metal producer David Bottrill and upstart California drummer Steve Forrest to heighten a glam-punk bombast that lost its exoticism when mainstream emo did it bigger, with a better profit margin.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

It's a blessing and a curse that the sad young men of Hüsker Dü didn't meet a tragic end so their legacies could've been washed in unconditional love. But having dodged sainthood, Bob Mould continues to make things messy: Now he documents a middle-age gay life damped by abusive relationships, empty sport sex, and self-knowledge that leads to solitude.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

These days everyone seems to need a hippie-folk Mister Rogers to tuck them in. Sam Beam's breathy croon is as soothing as a lullaby, but just as limited -- which becomes an issue over two discs and 23 songs. Yet that very sameness helps this patchwork of singles, soundtrack cuts, and unreleased tracks cohere.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

Like most extreme acts, this trash-talking MC's strengths are best showcased in wham-bam singles. To sustain interest between fourth-album climaxes, the Berlin-based sleaze queen collaborates with London's Simian Mobile Disco, who ditch guitars in favor of diverse synthetic settings: For "Lose You," she even breathily surrenders to ethereal Italo-disco.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

Big-budget R&B albums used to be the industry's bread and butter; these days, they often get stale before they even see a release date.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Login or Register to rate this item.

For a performance-art/synth-pop duo seemingly designed to self-destruct in a blaze of hype, New York's Fischerspooner have outlasted not only their lusciously flashy 2002 single "Emerge," but also a substantial yet ignored 2005 second album, Odyssey.