Blondie's third album may be a rehash of their first two, but the videos made for it ushered in a new age in the promotion of rock music. Viewed now, some of the costumes and attitudes are embarrassing, but the band can't be faulted for their over-enthusiasm in breaking new ground. There are some great songs here, "Dreaming" and "Union City Blue," and even filler material such as "Die Young Stay Pretty" is engaging. At the time, Blondie seemed to me part of a corporate plot to destroy the threat of a punk British invasion by manufacturing a glamorous alternative that was christened new wave. Thirty years later, the music holds up while the cultural battles are long since forgotten. [www.blondie.net]

Pierce The Veil's A Flair For The Dramatic boasts incredible, sky-scraping vocals coupled with heavy, intricate instrumentation in the vein of in the vein of Circa Survive or The Receiving End of Sirens. It all comes together to make for an epic, energizing album. [www.myspace.com]

The only reason to buy this bland assemblage of Fats Domino covers is to support the community related charities that CD sales will help fund. Some of it will buy musical instruments for New Orleans schoolkids. Other dollars will help rebuild Fats Domino's home that was lost in the flooding. It's good that the money is going towards something worthwhile, because the music adds nothing to the legacy of Fats Domino. It is all over-processed and NPR friendly, nothing like the rough and hard rocking music that Fats himself recorded. [www.tipitinasfoundation.org]

Boy with a Coin from Iron & Wine includes three songs: "Carried Home," "Boy with a Coin," and "Kingdom of the Animals." The title track can also be found on the full-length release, The Shepherd's Dog, but the other two what's worth picking this up. Having three songs to evaluate, I will also use three words to sum them up: beautiful, haunting, and somber. [www.ironandwine.com]

Roisin Murphy's debut solo album, 2005's Ruby Blue, found the former Moloko vocalist paired with producer Matthew Herbert for an aural affair that was (all at once) sultry, poppy, jazzy, quirky, and, well, utterly mesmerizing. For Overpowered, Murphy has recruited several different producers for what she hopes to be her big breakout album. And if there is any justice in this world, Overpowered will be just that. Every track on this album (save, perhaps, "Scarlet Ribbons") is single material, each with an attractive melody and dancefloor-ready beat. Of course, Murphy's rich voice is at the center of the music, and it is Murphy's talent as a songwriter and vocalist that makes Overpowered stand out from the pack of female-fronted dance acts. Though not as initially distinctive or complex as Ruby Blue, Overpowered, like Goldfrapp's Supernature, succeeds beautifully as a glittering moment of electro-pop magic and manages, still, to showcase Murphy's unique style to what will hopefully be a huge audience. [www.roisinmurphy.com]

I'm calling it right now: this is going to be one of the overlooked albums of 2007. The songs penned here by these melodic rockers are not complicated, but they are beautifully constructed with the soaring vocals of Justin Anderson taking the forefront. The music perfectly fits the vocals, with the upbeat songs led by driving guitars and lush drum beats. While, the softer, often piano-driven ballads are simply gorgeous. The honest fact is this album should not be missed. [www.mainstayrock.com]

After a bit of a miss with last year's Dusk and Summer, Dashboard Confessional returns to its roots, with a more acoustic driven album very much like those that helped Chris Carrabba gain indie fame in the early part of the decade. This time around, though, the songs aren't as high pitched and emo, showing the maturity that Carrabba was striving for on his last effort. This album should please all types, from those who've been with Dashboard since the beginning and those who are just getting started. [www.dashboardconfessional.com]

If you're going to do political music, at least make it angry and hard. Al Jorgensen has been feeding off of the Bush administrations since Bush Sr. inspired "N.W.O." on Psalm 69 in 1992. And he's back with the remixed version of Rio Grande Blood, aptly titled Rio Grande Dub Ya. Now, you don't have to be anti-Bush to enjoy this album, but it helps -- a lot. What you definitely have to be is into Industrial music with an electronic tinge. This isn't a Ministry-for-beginners record though. It contains 11 scathing criticisms in heavy beats, some better than others. "Señor Peligro" and "Lies Lies Lies" are the best. [www.pissarmy.com]

San Francisco-based Scissors For Lefty is made up of two sets of brothers: the Krimmel brothers and the Garza brothers (and Uncle Steven). Their songs are tight and hooky and the single, "Lay Down Your Weapons", a ditty about an ex-con"s fantasies of his first day outta the joint and how the day goes terribly wrong, is perhaps the catchiest from Underhanded Romance and has achieved regular airplay on college radio. Aside from being a little damned annoying the band just plays things too safe. There's nothing particularly interesting here, just a band that can write some decent, hooky songs. This is not a terrible thing, mind you -- but nor is it the sort of thing that produces legions of rabid fans either. [www.scissorsforlefty.com]

Fort Nightly, the new album by the New York-based outfit White Rabbits, cuts straight through the smog that's been polluting rock for the past several years. It's got all the pulse and creativity that has been missing from the bands currently dominating the airwaves. The Rabbits hit you hard from the jump on this one—the opening track, "Kid On My Shoulders" is a thumping, riot of tune that sets off the record like a roman candle. The rest of the album is a musical journey that weaves its way through punk, folk and infectiously global grooves. In a few songs, like the hypnotic "March of the Camels," the band dances back and forth between Middle Eastern and ska vibes, layering bouncy guitar licks over rolling drum beats. It's a celebration of sounds that very few musicians can pull off—and the Rabbits clearly know how to stir the pot just right. A band hasn't been able to rock the kasbah like this in quite some time. [www.myspace.com]

Recorded in 2005 over two nights in Dublin, this 2CD/1DVD collection finds R.E.M. playing it safe on their first official concert release. The post-Bill-Berry-era comes alive as they draw heavily from 2004's Around the Sun, but one wonders why they chose this particular set with nearly 30 years worth of gems in the vault. Other than nailing the obvious hits and a few choice classics—"Cuyahoga," "Orange Crush" and "The Great Beyond"—it's a showcase for newer tunes like "So Fast, So Numb" and the "Masters of War"-esque "Final Straw," which thrive on stage. The DVD is a mere re-hash of the CD, with no bonus footage beyond Michael Stipe painting his Ninja Turtle bandana across his eyes and witnessing his bizarrely captivating stage persona. It seems Live is an invitation for fans scared off since Berry's departure to come back and hear the best of what they've been missing. [www.remhq.com]

Rustic and isolated, the sophomore release from Band of Horses drifts purposely from porch to porch like a friendly neighbor. A return from Seattle to their native South Carolina was clearly top of mind, as they've matured eons since their excellent debut, Everything all the Time. Ben Bridwell steps up his writing to almost folktale precision, weaving tales of small-town romance that are simultaneously hopeful and haunting through woodsy, reverb-tinged vocals. Serene and mellow while able to rock as hard as My Morning Jacket, the band effortlessly switches from the sweeping guitars and Southern-inspired rock of "Ode to LRC," to the foot-stomping backwoods folk of "The General Specific," to the sleepy country of "Marry Song" without losing their fire. Wherever they are, the water is swampy — let's hope Band of Horses keep drinking it. [www.bandofhorses.com]

The Goons of Doom deserve major plaudits for their choices in naming both their band and their debut album. If only they had invested a fraction of that same creativity into the songs on it. A chaotic, unfinished collection of Pixies-esque pop tunes, grungy garage-rock, and uninspired slacker serenades, all indicate that these Goons are far more interested in playing at being a band than playing as one. [www.goonsofdoom.com]

With names like Faris Rotter, song titles like "Sheena is a Parasite" and a wardrobe worthy of a Tim Burton film, The Horrors seem perfectly poised to emulate the cool camp of The Cramps. Don't confuse them for a cheap clone, though—they opt for jagged, organ-inflected garage rock instead of The Cramp's more bluesy approach, and frontman Rotter's hoarse histrionics are a far cry from Lux Interior's gothic Elvis impersonation. The biggest difference thus far, unfortunately, is in their body of work; at a mere twelve minutes, The Horrors first EP is over almost as soon as it has begun. One can only hope its sequels are more substantial. [thehorrors.co.uk]

Manchester Orchestra is a band of extremely talented musicians playing music that is difficult to categorize. They've been seen on the road with the likes of Brand New and Annuals, so that should give you a starting point, but their eclectic debut exceeds expectations and defies comparison. Their music is both chaotic and cathartic—swaying back and forth between the soft, melodic and loud—leaving the listener begging for more. [themanchesterorchestra.com]

It's frustrating that a debut as fascinating as Joe Magistro's (aka Prophet Omega) Natural World should falter merely because of one element. Yet, despite effortlessly blending rock, funk, and electronica, and seamlessly stacking sound upon sound, falter it does. The culprit? Magistro's lackluster lyrics, which have the unfortunate consequence of condemning the instrumental delights of tunes like "The Right Thing" and "Soul Control" to the status of second-class musical citizens. [prophetomega.net]

Jose Gonzalez's In Our Nature is a quiet, calming album that calls to mind Iron and Wine and Elliott Smith in its ability to calm and soothe an overloaded mind. It's quiet and intimate, making it a great album to listen to while sitting alone, attempting to work or trying to go to sleep. You may have even heard the single, "Down The Line," on one of your favorite TV shows recently and not even known who it was. Either way, In Our Nature is worth a listen for any fan of soft, acoustic pop. [www.jose-gonzalez.com]

Thrice is one of those bands that is always progressing yet remaining successful in the process. Their last release, 2005's Vhiessu, saw them abandon previous sonunds in favor of more post-hardcore/prog-rock. 2007 finds them releasing half of their follow-up, a massive collection of songs known collectively as The Alchemy Index, made up of 4 EPs inspired by the four elements—Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Volumes 1 and 2 (Fire & Water) come first, with vastly different styles. Fire feels a lot like Vhiessu, featuring a Thrice most people are used to. Water, on the other hand, delves into electronic elements and softer vocals. All the while, you never lose the fact that this is Thrice, which is key to the success of the entire project. Fire & Water works well on its own, but the power of the two volumes together is really what should make this work. [www.thrice.net]

Originally intended as interludes for Robert Wilson’s unrealized CIVIL warS, David Byrne’s The Knee Plays stand well enough on their own—enervated, funereal jazz mixing with mostly surreal slices of life. But it's the set of cryptic prophecies on “In the Future” that proves to be the most compelling. The song itself may be over twenty years-old, but it, like its creator, still has an awful lot to say about today. [www.kneeplays.com]

Deleted Scenes' self-titled, debut EP features an abundance of jangly, fuzz box-fueled guitars, wandering bass lines, and upbeat drums. Add to that Dan Scheuerman's unique vocals and you're left with a textbook formula for indie-rock success. The songs are fun and poppy, without being contrived, and would easily work as a soundtrack to a summer road trip or the background music for a house party. [deletedscenesmusic.com]