In recent years, Lucinda got married. Many of us were worried she would run out of subject matter. No worries here, it turns out!

DeVotchKa's music is part of a trend that includes artists like Andrew Bird, Beirut and Calexico seemingly sprung from an alternate reality in which the British Invasion never reached American shores and yet the alternative movement flourished anyway.

Toro y Moi has a tough act to follow on his new album, "Underneath the Pine."

"The King of Limbs" consists of eight strange and understated songs. There are no anthems and no multi-part epics, no nostalgic returns to form and no game-changers. Instead, it's the kind of record that a band their age should and would make: modest in scope, yet unselfconscious, exploratory and wise.

It's quite rare for a producer of dance music to make a foray into singing, but that's exactly what British electronic wunderkind James Blake has done on his self-titled debut LP.

If Brian Wilson wanted the Beach Boys' "Smile" to be a "teenage symphony to God," it may be that Sam Beam has managed to write such a symphony for grown-ups on the latest offering from Iron and Wine, "Kiss Each Other Clean."

With "The Party Ain't Over," Jackson's voice is still strong, soulful and gritty; but the music, too, is vibrant and provocative.

Content is the band's first new material in 16 years. The band has a sound of its own invention, featuring leftist lyrics set to a punky, funky, serious groove you can actually dance to. And not just slam dancing either!

Boys -- and particularly the heartbreak they've caused -- are the centerpiece of the new sophomore album from Adele, the 22-year-old British singer-songwriter and 2009 Best New Artist winner at the Grammys.

The King Is Dead will touch most people in the same ways: as a breezy, enjoyable album that cuts down on the details and focuses on the pleasurable aspects of music and life. This is a solid way to ring in 2011.