Beck - Modern Guilt (DGC Records)

Freewheelin' singer-songwriter Beck Hansen has made a career out of being a shape-shifter whose integrity stems from the fact that he doesn't go out of his way to capitalize on his commercial success. After issuing the anti-folk anthem "Loser" in 1994, Beck shifted directions and became a funk-soul brother for 1996's Odelay, which still stands as his most satisfying album. After a few downbeat releases (2002's Sea Change and 2006's The Information), Beck is back with Modern Guilt, a hodgepodge of a release that pairs him with producer Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley fame.

Beck's lackadaisical style of singing has always been his trademark. It doesn't work so well, however, on the opening track, "Orphans," a tune filled with loops of found sounds. He's better off on the careening "Gamma Ray," a song that sounds like it could have come from the sessions for Gnarls Barkley's last album. The title track has a groovy guitar riff and "Walls" is a terrific collage of synthesizer beats and mumbled vocals. "Profanity of Prayers" and "Soul of a Man" have a great, grungey vibe to them, suggesting the Black Keys (one-time tour mates) may have rubbed off a bit on Mr. Hansen. A musical sponge, Beck shows with Modern Guilt that he's still branching out in unpredictable directions. - Jeff Niesel

The Subways
All or Nothing (Sire)

Brit-rock trio the Subways had quite the building buzz when its debut, Young For Eternity, came out in 2005. The UK group jumped into the US music scene with some decidedly compelling songs, combining epic rock guitars with hooky melodies that paired singer-guitarist Billy Lunn's swaggering vocals with bassist Charlotte Cooper's lilting voice. All or Nothing, the record's follow-up, which was produced by powerhouse studio man Butch Vig in Los Angeles, is similarly toned.

The first track and premiere single, "Girls and Boys," surges with propulsive guitar riffs reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age, precise beats and that signature girl-boy vocal line, immediately engaging the listener and giving the album heft. Successive tracks like the aptly named "Shake!Shake!" and the heavier, growling "Turnaround" showcase the group's skill for making feverous, layered, driving rock songs that don't sound generic or poppy and have some of the best riffs this side of QOTSA and the Foo Fighters. It's actually a welcome relief next to the sludge of CDs that have been appearing on the record store shelves lately. - Emily Zemler

Albert Hammond Jr.
¿Como Te Llama? (Black Seal)

Albert Hammond Jr. keeps trying to extend the 15 minutes of fame he had with the Strokes into something more. And he keeps failing. First came the Strokes' two forgettable follow-ups (2003's Room on Fire and 2006's First Impressions of the Earth) and then Hammond Jr. delivered his inauspicious solo debut, 2007's Yours to Keep. Now, with ¿Como Te Llama?, which translates to "what's your name?", Hammond is back with another uneven effort. The album begins with the racing "Bargain of a Century" and then veers into "Lisa," a schizophrenic number that alternates between beautiful bits of piano and strings and swathes of distortion. Too bad Hammond's thin voice can't match the song's heavier moments.

The real trouble might just be that Hammond is a limited songwriter. With the exception of "GfC," a quirky number that sounds like a leftover Eels tune, the songs here just aren't very memorable. That the best song ("GfC") is also the single speaks to the fact that Hammond, like the Strokes, is better at producing singles than albums. Songs like "Victory at Monterey" have a good garage feel to them but again feel like singles that would have been better if they were collected on an EP. And while the music biz might be shifting in a more disposable direction, Hammond Jr. still has to prove himself in the long-player format. - JN

ALLÁ
Es Tiempo (Crammed Discs)

Four years in the making, Es Tiempo is the epic debut from Chicago's Allá (pronounced like a karate yell "ay-YAH" with those Spanish double-L's). The album's satiny, ethereal female vocal harmonies and trippy, layered instrumentation conjures associations with Stereolab. However, Stereolab's French-language exoticism and European cool is replaced here with Spanish lyrics, a warm Latino attitude and orchestral psychedelic twee sunshine. There are also hints of Brazilians like Os Mutantes and Mendes' Brasil '66 in the complex recipe.

The excessively lush, otherworldly arrangements are thoughtfully meticulous and obsessively dense. However, there's a certain carefree spirit about Es Tiempo that prevents its focused sophistication from becoming academic or forced. As can sometimes be the case with Stereolab, if you're not in the mood for it, Allá's dreamy vocal harmonies and foamy instrumental textures can float through your head without hooking an anchor. Overall, if you're one to love or hate Stereolab, you'll likely love/hate Allá for many of the same reasons. But the artists' passionate four-year creative investment that is evident in these songs warrants anyone's respect. Particularly in indie rock, one negative side effect of readily accessible recording technology has been a glut of thin, underdeveloped CDs lacking in craftsmanship. Es Tiempo's army of collaborating musicians and its hours of studio time carry a fossil record of a creative process that's really refreshing to hear. - Michael David Toth

Scrapomatic
Sidewalk Caesars (Landslide Records)

Scrapomatic features two long-time colleagues, Mike Mattison and Paul Olsen, who play soulful roots music with a new twist. Sidewalk Caesars is the band's second full-length album on Landslide records. The song "He Called My Name" is the kind of slow, foot-tapping, heartfelt blues that makes you shimmy your shoulders and jive to the sound of the slide guitar. Mattison sounds as if he were crushing stones with his voice as he sings, "I don't need a preacher trying to tell me that I got to get saved/ Drowned in the river tell the fisher that I took the bait."

"Drink House" is your typical bass-driven bluesy-jazz tune that could even get the most sedimentary person to get up out of his or her La-Z-Boy to "shake what their momma gave him." "Hook, Line & Sinker" sounds like a song you've heard before. This is a superbly creative blues album that will be sure to grab the attention of anyone who enjoys the style of music John Mayer has made recently on Continuum and Try. - Ryan MacLennan

Static Radio NJ
An Evening of Bad Decisions... (Black Numbers)

In case the band name left any sort of doubt, these dudes are from Jersey. And what that means is that their melodic take on punk and hardcore has roots that extend all the way into the wells that bands like Lifetime and the Bouncing Souls have drawn from in the past. Now, before you roll your eyes or throw out the been-there-heard-that yawn, it's important to mention that Static Radio NJ also fires off some much more straightforward hardcore songs ("Ferren Decks," "In Your Dreams") as well as some surprisingly well-crafted entries for the pop-punk cannon ("Marc," "The Waiting Game").

And while the band may be bouncing between the sounds of artists like Good Riddance, Kid Dynamite and even early Unwritten Law, it holds it all together with a rough-edged smile and spit-shined melodies. If you had any sort of interest vested in the East Coast melodic-hardcore of the '90s, you should be able to find something to love here, while the band's knack for crafting sub-three-minute anthems - packaged like swinging fists covered in bubble wrap - means that you aren't just getting tunes to feed your nostalgia, but some powerful and catchy jams worthy of repeat listens. - Matt Whelihan

Billy Idol
The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself (Deluxe Edition) (Capitol Records)

Known for a handful of hits that are identified almost exclusively with the '80s, snarling singer Billy Idol hasn't let that stop him from issuing a greatest hits compilation. The gelled-hair rebel has assembled a retrospective on this two-disc CD/DVD set. The compilation has all the classic Idol numbers, including all seven of his Top Ten hits and features "White Wedding (Part 1)," "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing with Myself." The CD also contains two new and exclusive tracks.

The first of these to appear on the album is "John Wayne," a fitting tribute to the late movie star. The other is "New Future Weapon," a retro-sounding tune that might have been a hit back when John Hughes used to make movies for the teen set. "New Future Weapon" finds Idol in a dark mood, musing about the "dawn of a new future weapon." Although the new tracks don't break any new musical ground, Idol caters to his fans and the new tracks will be must-haves for them. This deluxe edition of greatest hits also includes a DVD which features a combination of classic and unseen music videos. - RM