TUNNG: GOOD ARROWS (THRILL JOCKEY) *** Tunng is a group of wired minstrels, chronicling modern life with lilting folk melodies, drum loops and electronic blips and beeps. The blend is far more harmonious than it might seem on paper - so much so that "Good Arrows" can drift by in a pleasant but barely noticeable haze on a casual listen. ...more

December 13, 2007

The Just Sing, Florida contest has picked three finalists in its quest for a new state song. You can go to www.justsingflorida.org to hear for yourself, then pick your favorite. Voting ends Jan. 11. Can't decide? The Tampa Tribune's Curtis Ross offers his quick take on each of the contenders here. ...more

December 12, 2007

TAMPA - Two songs into his set Sunday night, Keith Urban already had provided enough guitar heroics to power any rock act this side of Van Halen. ...more

December 10, 2007

Two songs into his set Sunday night, Keith Urban already had provided enough guitar heroics to power any rock act this side of Van Halen. ...more

December 10, 2007

DEVENDRA BANHART: SMOKEY ROLLS DOWN THUNDER CANYON (XL) **½ You know things are getting strange when postmodern folkie Devendra Banhart's album title sounds like a page from the "Smokey and the Bandit" script. ...more

December 6, 2007

OAKLEY HALL: I'LL FOLLOW YOU (MERGE) ***½ Few experiences can match the thrill of being introduced to a great band live. Oakley Hall's powerful set opening for Bright Eyes at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in May created a great deal of anticipation for this, the band's fourth album. ...more

November 29, 2007

AESOP ROCK: NONE SHALL PASS (DEFINITIVE JUX) *** There's something in Aesop Rock's voice that suggests he's just about to call you a jerk or worse. The Long Island rapper's tone and cadence is a natural for long, taut rhymes full of withering put-downs. ...more

November 23, 2007

MEKONS: NATURAL (TOUCH AND GO) ** For its latest album, Mekons got back to the country, literally. "Natural" was conceived and written while the band members were secluded in the English countryside. ...more

November 15, 2007

HEAVY TRASH: GOING WAY OUT WITH HEAVY TRASH (YEP ROC) ** Gotham hipster Jon Spencer's pillaging of Southern music was a real hoot back in the ironic '90s but the shtick hasn't worn that well. When he sings "I had no roots here, no roots to hold me" on this album's more-or-less title track, "Way Out," he might as well be summing up his career. ...more

November 7, 2007

LIARS: LIARS (MUTE) *** Liars traveled from 'hot' to 'challenging' to 'impenetrable' over the course of its first three albums. Accessible might not seem like the next logical stop, but after 2006's 'Drum's Not Dead,' there likely wasn't anywhere else to go except completely over the edge. ...more

November 2, 2007