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Chuck D famously called rap the CNN of black America, but Mr. Lif wants to remake it as CNBC. The Boston rapper's latest is a quasi concept album dedicated to the current financial crisis -- think It Takes a Nation of Bankers to Hold Us Back.

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Concept albums can be dicey, but this Brighton, England electro duo negotiate the terrain smartly, crafting the most appealing musical ode to zombies since Thriller. The Underworld­-ish "Feed on You" and horror­-movie march "How Do We Stop the Normals?" set the spooky tone amid ever­-present washes of minor­-key synths.

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Across four albums, Black Lips have made sloppiness an aesthetic choice. Their live shows have the feel of a bunch of blitzed teenagers spazzing out on borrowed instruments in a friend's basement. Their records sound like extended pranks. But amateurish charm grows tedious, even when delivered with the balls-out energy this quartet routinely generates.

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Matt Ward's playful leads and warm, insistent strum make him the rare indie-rock guitarist with an instantly recognizable style. His voice is also distinctive, though more for its limitations: He sings like he's got a stuffy nose and a throat full of sawdust. It's to Ward's credit that he knows exactly what to do with both instruments.

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Southern rock is a minefield of rebel flags, drinking songs, and dudes yelling "Free Bird!" With Drive-By Truckers, singer-guitarist Jason Isbell learned to embrace some of those clichés; on his gritty, vibrant second solo album, he begins to transcend them.

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In 2005, Living Things' debut album, Ahead of the Lions, felt like a cathartic call to arms for a war-weary country that had sold its soul. Now America's problems are even more dire, but its mood has changed. As such, the strength of this follow-up is not the defiant antiestablishment fist-pumping (though there's plenty), but the tunes.