Music

With the release of their terrific last record in 2008, it was uncertain if Philadelphia retro-rockers Dr. Dog were really a stupefying, sometimes exhilarating mishmash of '60s tribute bands who had unexpectedly struck gold or if they were something more. The band is now road testing a batch of new material in a short preview tour of North America and the new tunes only deepen the mystery.

Two years after knocking the pop world on its ear with a jaw-dropping debut, Vampire Weekend has returned with a new record that likewise seeks to find a fusion between power-pop and African and Caribbean musical styles. The only problem: the band forgot to include the pop.

Ten years after he reconvened his E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen now seems ready to indulge in a little nostalgia as he salutes the high points and long-overlooked gems of his discography during a concert Sunday night in Milwaukee.

Do you think you're too frightened to see who's in and who's out in a list of the great Halloween songs of all time? Find out what pop music tunes will rattle your bones this Halloween -- if you're not too scared that is.

Eclipsed by Nirvana's ascendency to superstardom, alternative-rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr. saw little return despite their years of wowing the underground. On Tuesday night's concert in Madison, Wis., the newly reunited band used high volume and their cache of bludgeoning riffs to conquer the audience.

Tropicalia musical pioneers Os Mutantes were among a generation of musicians credited with introducing rock and folk influences to Brazilian audiences in the late 1960s, while likewise inspiring rock stars Beck and Kurt Cobain. The group's new album -- its first in nearly 35 years -- aims to accomplish the same all over again.

Three records into their careers and British alternative-rock combo Arctic Monkeys are hoping a comeback album with right their ship and bring them back to the good graces of the rock-geek blogosphere.

Free of recording and touring commitments with Jack White and the other Raconteurs, the band's co-frontman Brendan Benson is now attempting to kick start his neglected solo career. His new power-pop masterpiece comes roaring to life with a fire and execution that listeners haven't heard from him previously.

The concept of down time is something completely foreign to White Stripes leader Jack White. Fresh from touring with his side project, the Raconteurs, and actively plotting the future of his primary gig, White has launched yet another new band, the Dead Weather. The group's first album fleshes out the White Stripes' stripped down, hard-hitting formula.

After years of exile from the pop mainstream and enduring nearly every hardship imaginable, former Band drummer Levon Helm won a Grammy award and other critical notices for an unplugged, roots-oriented album in 2007. Unfortunately, Helm's brand-new disc reveals a lapse into harmful old habits.

After a five-year disappearing act, rap superstar Eminem has returned with a new album that seeks to merge forthright confessions about his ongoing battles with substance abuse, but maintaining his edge as the sensational, headline-capturing firebreather on the mic. Like his Slim Shady persona, it's a schizophrenic experience.

Thanks to opening duties for some of underground-rock's best-loved artists, New York low-fi rock group Grizzly Bear has seen its profile extend beyond the arty clubs and warehouses of Brooklyn to the top of music world tastemakers' homepages. The group's new album magnificently reinforces the buzz.

With dreams of basement-created symphonies still populating her head, longtime backup musician Annie Clark has released a new solo album under the St. Vincent moniker. The new record, "Actor," finally delivers on the promise obscured by years stuck at the side of the stage.

Mercurial is certainly a label that even curmudgeon Bob Dylan would seem hard-pressed not to embrace. For his new album, "Together Through Life," the rock legend surprises his audience yet again by re-embracing the sound of the roadhouse blues that first captivated his imagination back in the 1960s.

If bands like the White Stripes and Green Day have taught us anything, it's that the music of yesterday can be reborn. The latest album by Los Angeles' Silversun Pickups harkens back to the glory days of the Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine when our musical future seemed awash in thick, fuzzy guitar tones and overly slick vocals.

Since the heady '60s, singer-songwriter Neil Young has proven himself capable many times over as an artist who can rally the downtrodden with music that can inspire. Unfortunately, he tries to do so on his latest record by frequently singing about his hybrid car.

While most haters would pass the whole of the heavy metal nation off as a bunch of mindless, testosterone-fueled Neanderthals, a group like Mastodon belies all the old stereotypes. This is a thinking man's metal band.

On Saturday night, another roster of music legends will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. But unlike most years, this time two titans of rock's underappreciated subgenres -- hip-hop and heavy metal -- will lead the way.

Once upon a time, ex-Soungarden and Audioslave singer Chris Cornell was the '90s equivalent of a heavy metal golden god. Now desperate to get his solo career off the ground, Cornell has tracked a new album that ditches heavy rock for Timbaland-produced electro-pop. Find out if the gamble does the trick.