Despite a rock & roll resume few can touch, Replacements co-founder and current Guns n' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson has spent most of his career in the shadow of complex frontmen. While his spotty, post-'Mats projects like Bash and Pop and Perfect were destined for the cut-out bin, Stinson's first real solo disc is a stunning achievement. Set in motion with the captivating, slow crawling "Without a View," Village Gorilla Head wins fans early with the blissful power of "Not a Moment too Soon." The adept Stones-like frenzy of "Something's Wrong" exhilarates, but it's lilting, yet edgy ballads like "O.K." and "Light of Day" that magically touch on the Replacements legacy. No matter that Village took five years to build, these are concise, consistently great songs that suddenly find Stinson in the same league with players like Ryan Adams and Josh Rouse. (JOHN D. LUERSSEN)

The Shore The Shore (Maverick)

No one would be likely to fault you for mistaking the meandering melodies in "Hard Road," the opening song and first single off the Shore's self-titled debut, for the Verve's big comeback. Vocalist Ben Ashley channels Richard Ashcroft's vibrato so well, you'd think him possessed if you didn't already know that Ashcroft's still kicking. But by the time the third song, "Take What's Mine," rolls in, it becomes clear that this is more than Brit-rock karaoke by an American band. The Shore add their own dimensions by seamlessly blending in the kind of dreamy multi-tonal harmonies long ago mastered by groups from their native left coast, such as the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas. The resulting songs are sunnier than their U.K. idols' but darker than their West Coast forefathers', making it an all around nostalgic album of laid-back, pleasurable tunes. (KRISTIN ROTH)

The Sunshine Fix Green Imagination (spinART)

The poppier constituent of the neo-psychedelic Olivia Tremor Control, bespectacled, mutton-chopped Bill Doss fully indulges his jones for hooks and melodies in his project the Sunshine Fix. The group's second full-length release, Green Imagination, packs multi-part harmonies and myriad influences into succinct pop songs. The specter of Revolver and Rubber Soul re-invention -- like the backwards guitar on "What Do You Know?" -- pervades the disc, but there's so much more here: Nuggets-style garage rock ("Extraordinary/Ordinary"), Todd Rundgren-sounding choruses ("Enjoy the Teeth") and blasts of distorted bluesy harmonica ("Afterglow"). California's Paisley Underground of the 1980s and Big Star collide on "Statues and Glue." The piano-based ballad "Rx" is reminiscent Gram Parsons' excursions into soul music. And "Face the Ghost" has a vague T. Rex feel. Still, Doss leaves room for idiosyncrasy as he did in his old band -- an appearance by the Georgia Children's Chorus on "Runaway Run" and B-52's-inspired whooping on "Extraordinary/Ordinary" serve as unlikely reminders of the Sunshine Fix's Athens, Georgia, home base. (MEREDITH OCHS)

Nonpoint Recoil (Lava)

This third full-length is bound to be the one that finally vaults this incendiary act from the fertile late-Nineties southern Florida hardcore scene into the national limelight. As a one-time musical theater performer, Elias Soriano nails every hook, and his vengeful screams could halt a battle in mid-pitch. His voice perfectly matches the intensity and complexity of Nonpoint's fusion of punk, metal and artful aggro. Ranging from thrash to math to gorgeous, spacious lead work, Andrew Goldman's layered guitars launch, sail and explode like artillery shells. Such is the case with the soaring-yet-chilling debut single, "The Truth," where the band angrily questions the war in Iraq and the president their home state placed in office. (TODD SPENCER)

Phoenix Alphabetical (Astralwerks)

The French group Phoenix run in the ultra-hip worlds of Sofia Coppola and Air, drawing inspiration from both but occupying a space all their own. On their second full-length, Alphabetical, Phoenix step up their game significantly, having arrived at an elusive space where their songs define perfect pop, but maintain a cool, independent edge. The catchy refrain of the crisp "Everything Is Everything," will have you singing it for a week after you've heard it. And while Phoenix tap into the sensibility of Seventies British groups like T. Rex, they best themselves when they bring a delicate but lasting style to "(You Can't Blame It On) Anybody" and "Holdin' On Together," which quite wonderfully recall Andy Gibb. (LILY MOAYERI)

Ming + FS Back to One (Spun)

New York duo Ming + FS have fashioned a reputation as remixers deluxe for their work with everyone from Ashanti and P. Diddy to Suzanne Vega and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but the pair is just as comfortable and skilled crafting their own tunes. Back to One, their fourth album, deftly mixes slick jungle beats and sinewy bass lines with street toughness that would make the Warriors proud. The album opens with the intoxicating urban ambience of the keyboard-laden "Fish Eyes," then jumps into the low, growling rap of guest Napoleon Maddox, a frequent contributor to the album. The teaming of Ming + FS and Maddox is a formidable one, as evidenced as well on the dexterous wordplay of the gritty trip-hop track "Slang Verbs" and the rising tension of the nimble "Skills and Grace" -- a combination Ming + FS have in abundance. (STEVE BALTIN)