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Not at all a sequel to the otherworldly 1981 sample-funk landmark My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the second duo record by the former Talking Heads frontman and his experimental super-producer partner is a thoughtful singer-songwriter exercise, with Byrne's keening whine shorn of its percussive sharpness and propped high atop Eno's plush upholstery.

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It's no surprise that the recent divorce of America's most soul-baring mainstream singer would yield an emotionally in-your-face radio single. She loudly shrugs "So What" in the swaggering first smash, but elsewhere reveals a conflicted sincerity that both complicates and sharpens her lyrics, while bringing out genuine rock rawness in her typically slick collaborators.

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Bookending his second solo album with ruminations about hope, the Tribe Called Quest leader lays his eloquent flow over liquid arrangements shimmering with rhythmic finesse.

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With Gwen Stefani sidelined by motherhood, Canada's Dragonette fills the No Doubt void by walking a similar line between girly electro pop and boyish new wave. Singer Martina Sorbara lacks Stefani's distinctive squeak, so when hooks diminish, there's little to distinguish her from crasser clones like Katy Perry.

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For their 13th album, the Cure reverse a long downhill slide with a record that clearly matters -- not just to leader Robert Smith, who's been revising it for years, but to everyone involved, particularly peak-era guitarist Porl Thompson, whose return results in this 30-year-old band's densest and most detailed effort ever.

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Take a band known for crossing Britpop brains with new-wave brightness. Hire a transatlantic DJ-producer feted for making hot '60s soul cool again. Then entrust the results -- surprisingly feeble tunes, tossed-off sentiments, and uninspired performances -- to the guy who mixed Linkin Park? Blimey! Kaiser Chiefs have got themselves a stadium-size mess.