These are haunting ballads that conjure up smoky, rundown LA nightclubs you only see in David Lynch films.

There’s much that I do like about this album, but it’s in the subtler, more restrained moments.

There’s a swagger in the band’s step here, a sneer on their face, and they’ve got the goods to back it up.

This probably kicks more ass than any soundtrack has a right to.

This is an album of both fictional and non-fictional characters throughout their journey called life.

The themes that Lanois weaves into his songs are what give Shine its true beauty and character.

They continue to challenge, change, and transform themselves into what best fulfills their artistic predilections.

Though the Sinners are certainly far from being country in the traditional sense, they’re certainly not alt-country in the accepted sense.

Despite the shadows cast by the album’s reserved polish, it is a credit to Carlton that her panache rises to the surface.

When all is said and done, the band seems happy to continue with the success that they have enjoyed so far.

Mann has a definite gift in being able to capture a complex event in a couple of well-placed phrases.

Folklore further cements 16 Horsepower’s reputation as one of the most original and vital acts in the world today.

With obvious nods to groups like Vigilantes of Love, Over the Rhine, and Counting Crows, Set On Edge’s music has its base in rock n’ roll.

Oar is a spectacular achievement of truth and beauty, an example of raw emotion reduced to its purest form.

The album never becomes as compelling as it tries so hard to be, regardless of what you file it under.

A fresh sound that captures interest with beautiful songwriting and lush instrumentation.

Employing Southern rock stylings with some funk and occasional smatterings of hip-hop and metal, Tribute is extremely patchy.

Although clearly influenced by bands such as Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine, he remains a one-man show.

The album is full of songs about distant relationships and lost loved ones.

This sounds more like something that would’ve appealed to my high school youth group, or avid viewers of VH-1.