full-length is a nostalgia trip to the days when Prince was king, new jack was still swinging, and trip-hop was the future. That’s not necessarily a bad thing: Talib Kweli’s live rhymes jolt “Feel the Bass” and the Rick James–via–Teddy Riley electro-funk grind “Bitch” works up real sweat. But between the whispery vocals, nodding beats, and grooves that go on forever without really getting anywhere, this too often settles for ’90s oxygen-bar ambience—cool, slight, and instantly forgettable. DAVID PEISNER

Satellite Party Ultra Payloaded MYSPACE Rock stars throw a rave in space; the Lizard King abides

Satellite Party is built around the unlikely pairing of ex– Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell with former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Yet that meeting of the minds is actually the least nutty thing about this debut, a trippy funk-rock throwdown with guest spots from Fergie, New Order’s Peter Hook, and the late Jim Morrison (via a rediscovered recording), plus an overarching concept having something to do with an imaginary environmentalist group called the Solutionists. As one song happily advertises, flower-child “insanity rains.” Still, Bettencourt’s howling power-glam riffs pair well enough with Farrell’s alley-cat wail. MIKAEL WOOD

Shapes and Sizes Split Lips, Winning Hips, a Shiner ITUNES MYSPACE Indie rock that almost falls apart—spectacularly Shapes and Sizes don’t play songs as much as teeter toward them, frequently finding grand, cabaret-style moments in their slipshod quest for inspiration. When weird sounds find well-placed melodies, it’s impossible to turn away—“Alone/Alive” adds threadbare indie guitars to theatrical female vocals, left-field swooshes, and terrific tempo changes, while “The Horse’s Mouthy Mouth” feels like Broadway gone wonderfully to seed. Imagine the Fiery Furnaces, if they had more respect for structure and no energy to waste on concepts. JOSH MODELL

which still astound nearly 40 years on. JON YOUNG

Swizz Beatz One Man Band Man ½ ITUNES MYSPACE And you thought DMX was the unstable one

“My album’s crazy,” boasts Kasseem Dean, a.k.a. Swizz Beatz, throughout his second solo record. While other rap/ R&B producers turned performers have been disappointingly uneven lately—Timbaland, WTF?—One Man Band Man makes schizophrenia a virtue. Gaudy beats start and stutter on party joints like the delirious single “It’s Me Bitches.” Swizz turns socially conscious on the piano pep talk “Part of the Plan,” assisted by Coldplay’s Chris Martin. But by the chest-thumping “Bust Ya Gunz,” the Beyoncé hit-maker is back to his Ruff Ryders roots. Crazy? Possibly. MARC HOGAN

Various Artists Spider-Man 3: Music From and Inspired By ITUNES Peter and Mary Jane finally put down their lighters

From the power-ballad franchise that brought us mega-weepers “Hero” by Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott and “Vindicated” by Dashboard Confessional, this soundtrack shifts demos for a sharp mix of unreleased alt-rock tracks. “Move Away” is the Killers at their new-wave soap opera best, Yeah Yeah Yeahs swagger like sexy champs, the Walkmen are grandly discontent, Wolfmother unleash a roiling riff bomb, and Black Mountain meander out for a lovely acoustic swoon. JOHNNY BRISKER

This loose, inspired collaboration between German electronic duo Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma of Mouse on Mars and terminally cranky Mancunian Mark E. Smith should have been the new Fall album. (It would’ve been of a piece with the garage-tronica of 1997’s Levitate.) The group has a rowdy blast on tracks like “Serious Brainskin,” a glitchy sonic meltdown that brilliantly complements Smith’s debased vocalese. J. NIIMI

arrangements. Self-producing for the first time, Wainwright leans toward ornate, Nilsson Schmilsson-y chamber pop. The excellent title track is the best (possibly) Tom Cruise–inspired torch ballad you’ll hear in 2007. LANE BROWN

 

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Tromatic
Reflexxions ½
ITUNES MYSPACE
Clinically shown to relieve
chronic side-project boredom

Rufus Wainwright Release the Stars ½ ITUNES MYSPACE If the gay messiah shows, here’s his processional

The last time Rufus Wainwright walked into a recording studio, it was with a 50-piece orchestra and enough hooks for a pretty great EP. Unfortunately, he left with a double album’s worth of material (released in two parts as the critically tolerated Want series, from 2003 and 2004). Here, the multitude of musicians is back, but the songs are actually strong enough to hold the weight of the over-the-top

Wheat Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Enigmatic and epic—and they’re not from Montreal! After their minor 2003 hit “I Met a Girl” and a prolonged hiatus, this hooky Massachusetts band returns with its fourth and most rousing collection of heart-on-sleeve anthems. Boasting church organs, yearning vocals, and strings, they’re no less self-possessed than Arcade Fire, and you probably won’t hear three such beautifully sweeping songs start another album this year: the majestic, devotional rock of “Closeness,” the hopeful (almost folk-funk!) bounce of “Little White Dove,” and the existential, Pavement-gone-power-pop groove of “Move=Move.” JASON GROSS

 

COUR TES Y BABYGRANDE RECORDS

The Sea and Cake Everybody ITUNES MYSPACE Chicago lounge dwellers reveal their sneaky edge

A quick taste of the Sea and Cake’s sighing voices and moonlit guitars could raise suspicions of a simple chill-out session. But after a decade-plus in action, Sam Prekop’s crew have mastered a more intricate approach, seasoning their gently introspective tales of “distracted and lazy” lovers with stronger ingredients. Here, John McEntire’s unusually loud drums issue a bracing rebuttal to the passive melodies, while the psychedelic buzz of “Left On” unleashes the simmering weirdness that’s muted elsewhere. JON YOUNG

Richard Thompson Sweet Warrior ITUNES Tireless cult hero endures the world with a biting wit

Richard Thompson plays many parts: British folk legend, electric guitar god, and bitterly funny observer of life’s endless disasters. Sweet Warrior blends all these roles, turning crushing misery into ripping good entertainment. The jaunty, laugh-out-loud “Bad Monkey” scolds an unreliable lover, and at the other extreme, “Poppy Red” showcases Thompson’s heartbreaking croon. Of course, the main attraction remains his bristling, zigzag guitar licks,

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