It pulses and throbs like club music; it's ethereal and haunting in spots; and if you remember Depeche Mode or Bronski Beat, then you'll be in familiar territory with 46bliss. What makes this a superior disc is the attention to details. The synthesizer programming is top-notch – never overdone, and subtle enough in spots that you have to listen carefully to notice what is going on. Of course, laying back and letting it all flow over you is a good idea too. Production is clean and clear, and the songwriting is strong, although for a while I kept hearing a distinct Beatles influence, confirmed by the cover of "Across the Universe." It'd be interesting to see if they could pull off a live show as well as they did the disc. Check www.46bliss.com for more info.

An apt title since this offering is as erratic as it is experimental. Imagine a distorted drum machine as the most prominent instrument; throw in some faint vocals, a host of background noises and static, and some jangly guitar reminiscent of the Velvet Underground and you have the Red Krayola's "Fingerpainting." The randomness, the free association/improv is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but there is something here, and, like a good scotch, it takes a bit getting used to. Mayo Thompson has been the steadfast member of the group since its first release in 1967, and though, at times, this comes off as more of a performance art piece, he knows what he's doing. Even if the audience doesn't.

This is essentially a one-man show. Rimas Campe has written, produced, and performed all thirteen songs here, with minimal help from others (the liner notes mention a guitar fill here, a voice sample there). It's a techno-flavored mix of material, desolate sounding, and if the lyrics are important at all, it's hard to tell, since the vocals are buried in the mix, and often heavily flanged or delayed. It might be a good thing though, since it doesn't seem like Campe can hold a note or carry a tune, and so much is spoken and not sung. If you like a heavy industrial sound though, it's worth a listen. "Come on Out" is one of the better cuts, in an NIN meets Depeche Mode kind of way. For more, knock yourself out at the Total Devotion website.

Who knew what to expect with a name like that, but this is one band I'd like to see live, because they rock, and because this is only a six-song CD. They've got a good sense of humor too, as their bio mentions an erroneous detour in upstate New York to a "secret government facility" that led to a "bombardment of sub-atomic particles," resulting in various super powers for each member of the group. Although this may be a doctored story (more likely they drank Genesee beer in Albany and lived to tell about it), the boys know how to rock. "Nightmare," the opener, screams out, sounding like STP on steroids. "Haunt" is another winner, with quick pounding chord changes, reminiscent of the Dictators. They close with R.A.F.O.R.N.R. (Rise and Fall of Rock and Roll), a thrashing rocker. More please, Man Scouts, and soon. www.manscouts.com

With songs like "Let's Get Drugs," "Now You Die," and "I Don't Give a Fuck," it's pretty clear you're not dealing with an art band here. Zeke gets things done in a hurry. A loud hurry. The vocals here are screamed so hard my throat hurt after listening to 16 songs, including the surprise track "Rhiannon," which closes the disc. Just to make it clear that Zeke is a member of the faster/louder club, several of the songs are under a minute in length, with "Rip and Destroy" clocking in at thirty-three seconds. It's tough to listen to it all in one sitting, since many of the cuts tend to run together. The slower, longer song (it's almost two minutes!), "Liar," stands out melodically and because of its pacing. Consider it, a twenty-one-minute CD just might make your commute to work a whole lot more interesting. www.zekeyou.com

If you like it hard, fast and loud, February must be your month, and the Cro-Mags are for you. Though so many hard-core albums suffer from poor production, the Cro-Mags seem to have gone the extra mile. The guitars are way loud, crunching like crazy as expected, and the leads rip and tear at will. But the drums and bass are loud and clear too, and only the vocals fade occasionally. Overall, the result is a well-balanced effort, from heavy thrashing songs like "Premeditated" to others like "Without Her," a more melodic piece deserving of FM airplay. Bassist Harley Flanagan will remind you of Henry Rollins, and he's just as cheerful, as the liner notes quote him saying "this is reality and it's worse than you ever dreamed." Listen for Rocky George of Suicidal Tendencies, who plays on the CD, and then bang your head on over to the Cro-Mags website: www.cro-mags.com.

De Tone has an impressive resume: he learned the basics from Steven Tyler's dad, has played with Ronnie Spector and Iron Maiden's Paul Dianno among others, and has done tons of studio work. On this CD, he plays all the instruments except for two bass parts. There's something for everyone here, from slow searing ballads, to a country stomp, even an acoustic number, with guitar sounds ranging from clean to dirty, and that might be what's bothering me: it's like an audio résumé. He's talented for sure, and still young, so there's a lot of promise, but the disc sounds flat or too stiff in too many spots, as if the lines were too scripted or rehearsed. As a first effort, it's not bad; it's just that someone should have shouted the title at him in the studio. www.raydetone.com.