Alkaline Trio
Agony & Irony
Epic

Alkaline Trio have long moved past the raw, drunken rants of their past and into a more polished, considered approach that adds more pop to their pop-punk attack. Even knowing that and despite the presence of quite a few catchy and enjoyable songs, their sixth full-length album Agony & Irony may be just a bit too slick and contented sounding to make the same impact fans of the band have come to rely on.

Earlimart
Hymn and Her
Shout! Factory

After taking three years to create 2007's Mentor Tormentor, Earlimart whipped through Hymn and Her in a quick 12 months. But don't expect such a speedy approach to replace quality songwriting; bandmates Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray have simply tightened their grip on lush, textured indie pop, which lends focus and mellow immediacy to this record.

G-Unit
T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight
G-Unit

Five years in the making, G-Unit’s sophomore release arrives just as the crew’s leader 50 Cent and former member Young Buck are going through a very public breakup. Five Buck tracks -- all recorded before things went sour -- appear on the final product, but you may also notice the Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Lil’ Kim collaborations that were once promised are absent. Even with the difficult birthing process, T.O.S. ends up a strong album thanks to 50 and his henchmen -- Lloyd Banks plus Tony Yayo – being in top form.

Vanessa Hudgens
Identified
Hollywood

Disney started positioning Vanessa Hudgens for her post-High School Musical while the franchise was still going strong, giving her a slightly more mature sound on her albums than standard Radio Disney fare. Her second album, Identified, isn’t radically different than her debut, V, but its savvy production – courtesy of sound-shapers like Kasz Money's Doctor Luke, Benny Blanco, and J.R. Rotem, makes the album more playful and listenable than it strictly has to be, and gives Hudgens a fighting chance to stay relevant to her fans once they outgrow their Disney years.

John Mayer
Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles
Columbia

Recorded live at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles finds the singer-songwriter/blues guitarist performing in three different musical settings: acoustic trio, electric trio and large ensemble. Essentially designed to showcase Mayer's ability to move from melodic soft rock and pop to soulful rockin' blues, the concert, while somewhat overly ambitious and sprawling, does shine a light on Mayer's virtuosic musical chops.