“Hate Train” quickly proves this is more than some garbage that didn’t make the cut. Metallica once, long ago, tried to create epic songs and finally you find them back and as ambitious as ever.

“Hell and Back” feels a bit more like the modern Metallica rather than the band on ‘Death Magnetic’ that was trying hard to duplicate past successes. It’s a bit experimental but not too shabby.

“Just A Bullet Away” sounds unfinished but is still quite potent. “Rebel of Babylon” is a bit of a return to form. A bit more work and these songs could have been a bit tighter and overall better.

Every song is over seven minutes which means so four songs clock in at nearly a half hour. It’s not going to satisfy Metallica fans who want a full release and a return to past form, but its aa quick way to make some fans forget the regretful ‘Lulu’.

Rating: 8/10

If Robin Thicke had a bit more energy “Stone In The Heart” might be one of his songs.

There seems to be some similarities to Gorillaz. But would you also believe there is a bit of that Danger Mouse/Gnarls Barkley flavor as well? “Annie You Save Me”, “Stare Into The Sun” and “Lay Me Down” all have that sexy, fun flavor.

“This Man” is a bit Prince while “Free” is a taste of Rod Stewart from decades ago. “Free” really sticks with you, I’m still singing it. Speaking of decades ago, “Never Look Back” has a bit brit-pop from the ‘60s in it. If this was on an oldies hit station you’d never think twice. “Colours” and “Over You” are simple, beautiful songs.

Graffiti6 are hard to peg. It sounds like there are a lot of influences going on here and you have to give them credit for being able to stretch across all of them. Singer Jamie Scott’s vocal range and ability is amazing. He’s the difference between something ordinary and something gold.

Rating: 8/10

“System” starts the album off right with a rhyme about the end of time. “Machine” carries it forward by saying its time to stand up because its not too late. You just wonder how many fans are actually listening rather than just grooving along.

“Sssnakepit” finds Enter Shikari starting like Prodigy and ripping into something out of Slipknot’s comfort zone. It’s a very interesting combination. “Stalemate” is different. It is slow and softer, but still has great lyrics and rhythm. It’s a bit more thoughtful and smart like something you’d expect from Muse. “Stalemate” actually has me reconsidering the best parts of Enter Shikari.

“Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here” borrows from Muse and a bit of the Manic Street Preachers. It’s a hell of a fun song.

Finally, the lads end with “Constellations”, seemingly tender song that just hides behind that facade. Listen closely and its deeper than just a bunch of the normal musical b.s.

Whether you care or not about politics and making a change, Enter Shikari can still be an interesting listen. But if you too are pissed and want something to listen to while occupying something you’ve got a band for that.

Rating: 8/10

The sound is lovely throughout, but nothing jumps out as amazing. “Empty Threat” is pretty as is “Chameleon/Comedian”. Edwards sings about being a chameleon and hiding behind her songs. It’s not a revolutionary thought.

“A Soft Place To Land” sounds like Sheryl Crow without a hook that will help you remember the song tomorrow. Even when Edwards tries to create something more interesting and uptempo it still misses; “Change The Sheets”.

“Voyageur” is another album that you want to grasp and love but it just doesn’t have that “It” factor. There is something missing. That is until “For The Record”, about Edwards’ divorce, where you finally feel a connection. It’s just too bad its so late.

Rating: 5/10

“Right In” sets the tempo in a big way. Skrillex takes a style of music (dubstep), tosses it on its ear, and then kicks it in the balls.

Skrillex takes interesting styles and finds a twist and keeps twisting. “The Devil’s Den” is arena-big without even trying. You listen to it and all you can think is “WTF?” And yet its freaking brilliant. “Right On Time” is like Fatboy Slim on steroids.

And seriously there is an “Orchestral Suite”? Why the hell not… nothing else is what it seems. Just sit back and enjoy it. It’s sort of like a little spoon full of sorbet to cleanse the palate.

Rating: 8/10

Now, its 2012 and they have released their latest album “For the Good Times”
. It’s not surprising to find Norah Jones stealing the show. In reality, the album would be just fine enough if she had taken on all the vocal chores.

Norah Jones and Richard Julian combine their gorgeous harmonies on “I Worship You” and really make you want to listen again and again. But Jones alone would have been enough.

Lead guitarist Jim Campilongo brings some sweet licks to “Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves”.

“Lonesome Blues” and “If You’ve Got The Money, I’ve Got Time” find Julian and Jones hearkening back to country music from decades ago.

“Foul Owl on the Prowl” is an interesting song about a murderer from In the Heat of the Night and finds Jones finding her inner Dolly Parton. Speaking of Dolly Parton, Jones does an amazing version of “Jolene” which steals the entire show.

Norah Jones hasn’t sound this charming in quite a while. Perhaps she needed something where she didn’t feel the pressure of being Norah Jones. Instead, she could have fun and just go for it.

Download: “I Worship You” and “Jolene”

Buy “For the Good Times”

The world’s biggest animated band, Gorillaz formed in 1998, and have since sold 12 million copies over two albums Gorillaz (2000) and Demon Days (2005). They have hit number 1 in more than a dozen countries and picked up awards including Grammys, Novellos, VMAs and EMAs.

Artist: Gorillaz

Title: Plastic Beach

Label: Virgin

Rating: 6/10

Review:
“Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach” f/Snoop dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – I’ve never heard Snoop Dogg so calm and fluid. He sits back in a lethargic beat while trying to bring a message of landfills and environmental issues. Snoop an environmentalist? You have to wonder if he got the memo.

“White Flag” f/Bashy, Kano and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music – The beat is hot but the hip-hop is passe. Does Albarn even knows the difference?

“Rhinestone Eyes” – A great beat is lost on Albarn’s sweet voice. The beat tries to draw Albarn into a hook that never comes. The song goes nowhere. It’s a shame because its got mad potential.

“Stylo” f/Bobby Womack and Mos Def – Mos Def does what he can with what he is given.

“Superfast Jellyfish” f/Gruff Rhys and De La Soul – De La Soul? Seriously. When is the last time they’ve done anything? They don’t necessarily drop the ball–but its a good thing that Gruff Rhys (lead singer of Super Furry Animals) is along to save the song.

“Empire Ants” f/Little Dragon – Painfully slow. Albarn does find a way to suck you in. A great song to put on when going to bed and in need of sweet dreams.

“Glitter Freeze f/Mark E. Smith – A great electro track that belonged on the last Prodigy album.

“Some Kind of Nature” f/Lou Reed – Albarn obviously digs Lou Reed. I’m glad someone does because this is a waste.

“On Meloncholy Hill” – No Blur fan will be surprised to hear Albarn heading back to the ’80s and mining for gold. This could have been held for a future Blur release.

“Broken” – This sounds like it came from a William Orbit production. The music is fantastic and could have survived on its own without Albarn–in fact it may have been better without vocals.

“Sweepstakes” f/Mos Def and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Usually Mos Def is on. Well the lights are out.

“Plastic Beach” f/Mick Jones and Paul Simonon – Getting the former Clash members together probably sounded great on paper–but where are they?

“To Binge” f/Little Dragon – Skip.

“Cloud of Unknowing” f/Bobby Womack and sinfonia ViVA – Skip this one too.

“Pirate Jet” – B-Side at best.

Frankly:
Damon Albarn had the world in the palm of his hands with the original Gorillaz album. At the time they sounded and seemed quite revolutionary. Now they are like watching Star Wars and then watching Avatar. The music hasn’t moved and Albarn seems to be quite content with a motley crew of near has-beens.

Artist: Lifehouse

Title: Smoke & Mirrors

Label: Geffen

Rating: 5/10

The band also worked with American Idol alum Chris Daughtry, whom Jason met and became friends with on the road. “I haven’t done much co-writing in the past and I’m a bit leery of it,” the singer admits. “You can end up with a song that is not good and just wish you had that day of your life back (laughs) however, I went over to Chris’s place in LA and within an hour we had ‘Had Enough.’” The song, to which Daughtry contributes vocals and Richard Marx also co-wrote; is a blistering, anthemic example of the kind of music that made Lifehouse fans fall in love with the band in the first place. It belongs alongside the more traditional rock tracks on Smoke & Mirrors like “Nerve Damage” and “Wrecking Ball” (bassist Soderberg’s first lead vocal with the band), songs that capture the unparalleled feel of a Lifehouse show.

Review:
“All In” – Jason Wade always seems to be rushing towards someone or something and this song is no different. The only problem is that its not memorable except when you are listening. The best songs are memorable long after you’ve stopped listening.

“Nerve Damage” – Not the same sound you’ve come to expect from Lifehouse. It’s a bit rougher around the edges and actually reminds me a bit of Silverchair, what ever happend to them?

“Had Enough” – Wade often sounds like he is singing through gritted teeth and pushing really hard to sound like the grunge bands from yesteryear. And that is when he loses me.

“Halfway Gone” – Lifehouse is at their best when they sound like Lifehouse. That doesn’t seem to make sense.. but when you listen to this song it makes total sense.

“It Is What It Is” – Wade always seems lovelorn, the difference here is that he sounds a bit more emotional and raw. It seems to fit him better.

“From Where You Are” – This doesn’t have the raw emotions. Instead it sounds like Wade is going through the motions.

“Smoke & Mirrors” – This sounds like it could be a country song. Wade actually sounds like John Mellencamp. It’s funny, he sounds at his best right here. It’s a shame it’s not a great song.

“Falling In” – This is definitely a track that you could see being played at a high school dance and lots of young couples dedicating as “their song.”

“Wrecking Ball” – This is all wrong. Sounds cookie cutter.

“Here Tomorrow Gone Today” – This style of song doesn’t fit Lifehouse at all. Muse could get away with it, but Wade just doesn’t have the presence.

“By Your Side” – Skip it.

“In Your Skin” – You can bail on this one too.

Frankly:
At some point Wade has to find himself. This is the same thing I said about them 10 years ago, or whenver their first album came out. After hearing “Smoke & Mirrors” it seems there is hope. If Wade started to go the direction of having a more folksy, raw vocal rather than constantly trying to do that gritty singing like the grunge bands he’d be much more interesting. Instead everything is average at best.

Artist: Daniel Merriweather

Title: Love & War

Label: J Records

Rating: 5/10

Tracks:
“For Your Money” – Merriweather has a wonderful voice that seems to get lost in the echoing music that surrounds him like a shower curtain. Regardless, Merriweather pushes through and gets the most out of a good song.

“Impossible” – Sure, it sounds like a Motown song–all except Merriweather’s attempt at being the soul of Smokey Robinson.

“Change” – This is more nu-soul and seems to fit Merriweather a lot better than the tracks that are pure attempts at rewriting the Motown songbook.

“Chainsaw” – Cliche and lacking anything soulful.

“Cigarettes” – If country music ever needed a soul singer Merriweather would fit the bill, sort of, consider no one in Nashville would give him a second listen. Motown? If this was the first song they heard they might bail too.

“Red” – Merriweather tries to turn coal into a diamond. Too bad his voice is bigger than the generic lyrics.

“Could You” – The attempt at ripping off “California Dreamin” is just painful. Why not just cover the original rather than chopping up and hacking to death the original? It’s just painful.

“Not Giving Up” – Skip it.

“Getting Out” – Skip it.

“Water and a Flame” f/Adele – Adele steals Merriweather’s thunder. Wow. She is amazing. Too bad he didn’t just hand the entire song over to her. She proves why she is such a huge star. Merriweather tries to manage, but he can’t get the power back.

“Live By Night” – Painful.

“Give Everything Away for Free” – It’s pretty, but is lacking a hook that makes you want to sing it over and over again.

“The Children” – Didn’t Michael Jackson make 50 songs like this? 49 of which weren’t much better.

Frankly:
Daniel Merriweather tries really hard to do what Oasis did. Oasis took the elements of the Beatles and revamped them and stole the best pieces for their own songs. Merriweather tries to do the same with Motown. The difference is that Oasis actually wrote songs worth of being classics. Merriweather doesn’t have one track that could sit side-by-side with any great Motown hit.

Corporate line: Katharine McPhee warmly laughs as she confesses she’s been in “artistic hiding” for the last few years. “It took me a long time to figure out where I wanted to go and be as an artist,” she says. “I needed time to learn who I was as a musician.” Once she discovered the answer, however, her path was sure and swift. On Unbroken, her Verve Records debut, listeners will discover a glorious side of McPhee previously untapped. Poignant, vital lyrics swell over full, lush melodies.

The review:
“It’s Not Right” -Boring and without soul.

“Had It All” – The single is weak. McPhee is just singing whatever someone put in front of her and has no connection at all with this song.If she does it sure doesn’t come through here.

“Keep Drivin’” – Sounds like an attempt to move into Carrie Underwood territory. The problem is that Underwood is 10 and McPhee is a 5. McPhee does nothing to knock this out of the park.

“Last Letter” – Ditto the previous tracks.

“Surrender” – McPhee is sleeping walking through this track.

“Terrified” f/Jason Reeves – The Kara DioGuardi track was written to be a big pop song and McPhee makes a go at it. It’s the best song on the album. But it isn’t great. Kara should have held this for someone else.

“How” – There seems to be a bit of life in McPhee–oddly they held this track until the seven spot. Why?

“Say Goodbye” – A ballad without a heart.

“Faultline” and “Anybody’s Heart” and “Lifetime” and “Unbroken” are boring.

Frankly: It sounds as if Katharine McPhee doesn’t sound like she even cares. It sounds like she showed up at the studio for a couple of days and tried to knock out a few tunes. The songs are without any soul and that makes it nearly impossible to fall in love with.

Watch the video for “Had It All”: