Groove Armada, Santana, The Raveonettes, Mike Oldfield, Five Times August

The latest offering from dance doctors Groove Armada is, as the title suggests, a little mired in dancehall reggae.

This isn't an entirely comfortable marriage; despite the two genres' affinity for razor-sharp electric flourishes and hyper-fast beats, they don't blend here as well as you'd like. Thankfully, GA doesn't stick to the ragga format, which is both rewarding and confounding.

That's because, as always, GA dishes up some fantastic downbeat electronica. Then there's some very good deep house. There's good '80s synth/new wave. There's hip-hop from Kanye West's pal Rhymefest. There's smart ambient and English retro-soul faintly resembling what Mark Ronson did on "Version."

This apparent identity crisis makes the project, as a whole, uneven, but taken for what it is - a collection of splendid, random songs with no connection or unifying thread - it's quite enjoyable.

- Malcolm Venable, The Pilot

Groove Armada: "Soundboy Rock"

Rating: Download a few tracks

Tracks to download: "Love Sweet Sound," "The Girls Say," "Paris"

"Warrior" is no greatest-hits album from one of rock's best guitarists. The 28 songs on these two discs lack the catchiness that help a song stick in the mind and gain hit status. You'll have to find "Black Magic Woman" elsewhere.

This is a retrospective of Santana's music over three major labels going back to the 1970s. One disc is instrumentals; the other carries songs with vocals. He selected songs to convey a spiritual journey.

I prefer the instrumentals disc. Santana's playing is more inventive when his guitar is the "singer." The supporting licks on the other disc become repetitive. Throughout, however, his guitar work is masterful. At times it seems that rather than hitting a note, he's opening a door to a limitless source of power.

The standout tracks are from 1987's "Moonflower," a double album I've long enjoyed. "Europa," an instrumental, and "I've Been Waiting" both show off Santana's ability to weave a beautiful melody, then throttle it up into fiery riffs. As usual, the rhythm sections are superb.

- Dan Duke, The Pilot

Carlos Santana: "Multi Dimensional Warrior"

Rating: Borrow it from a friend

Tracks to download: "Europa," I've Been Waiting," "Blues Latino."

The aural haze produced by The Raveonettes, aka Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, drips with atmosphere and crackles with guitar distortion and echo. The vocals are delivered with an air of icy despair.

The overproduction that marred their last album, "Pretty in Black," has been replaced by the pure darkness and haunting reverb that draw you into their dark, musical vortex. It's entrancingly gloomy, a world of doomed love, betrayal and the promise of new love.

After two albums produced by girl group/new wave Svengali Richard Gottehrer, the band returns to the sound of the initial EP for "Lust, Lust, Lust." That doesn't mean the group has totally abandoned its Velvet Underground/Jesus and Mary Chain-meets-Chiffons sound entirely; just check out "Expelled From Love" and the Shangri-Las-like "The Beat Dies."

But on tracks such as "Sad Transmission" the band veers closer to garage rock. When the disparate influences synthesize, such as on the sizzling "You Want the Candy" and the funereal "Aly Walk with Me," the group's sound becomes transcendent.

- Larry Printz, The Pilot

The Raveonettes: "Lust, Lust, Lust"

Rating: Download a few tracks

Tracks to download: "You Want the Candy," "The Beat Dies," "Lust," "Black Satin"

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield is best known for his and Virgin Records' 1973 debut album, "Tubular Bells," which served as part of the haunting soundtrack to "The Exorcist."

A similar melody reveals itself throughout his latest work, "Music of the Spheres," but more than anything it is a sweeping symphonic composition with all the emotional hills and valleys expected of a motion picture soundscape.

Oldfield describes the album as his compositional interpretation of the theory that every celestial body has an inner music inaudible to the human ear. The lushness of the arrangements certainly makes "Spheres" more earthly than, say, the extreme desolation of Mars.

Oldfield recorded the CD with a full orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. Guest musicians included classical pianist Lang Lang. The production is impressive.

Over the years, Oldfield has skillfully woven elements of prog rock, pop, classical and folk music and made use of a wide array of instrumentation.

As a contemporary classic work, "Music of the Spheres" is out of this world.

- Jeff Maisey, Lifestyles Magazine

Mike Oldfield: "Music of the Spheres"

Rating: Go get it now

Tracks to download: "Harbinger," "The Tempest," "Silhouette"

Singer/writer Brad Skistimas won't change the world with his laid-back tunes, not with lyrics like "Keeping a distance / But calling me friend / Y ou're writing our history / But you're just writing fiction... " on "Who You Are."

Regardless, Skistimas and his band on "Brighter Side" are solid and poppy, keeping it simple for the most part with acoustic guitar, drums and bass.

Some songs have a bit of a Christopher Gaines sound (remember Garth Brooks' rock alter ego?), like the sixth track, "Sunrise." Others have melodies that sound like Del Amitri or Ryan Adams.

The 12-song CD is easy on the ears, quite Top 40. But, more important, this sophomore, self-released collection proves that an artist can gain a following without a record deal. The pretty boy from Dallas' first effort, "The Independent," got some 100,000 downloads on the Web and play on some TV shows.

If you're looking for simple rock, Five Times August will work. If you're looking for the next Nirvana, or a band that'll change the industry, keep looking.

- Toni Guagenti, The Pilot

Five Times August: "Brighter Side"

Rating: Download a few tracks

Tracks to download: "The Good Life," "Surface," "Sunrise," "One Way Road," "The Lighting"