THE ROOTS

"Rising Down" (Def Jam)

Over the course of 15 years and seven studio albums -- "Rising Down" being their eighth -- The Roots have shown they're not here to party. Not to suggest that the Grammy-winning, critically revered hip-hop band is dreary, but even when they tackle a subject that seems to be frivolous, like girls, as on the iTunes exclusive "Birthday Girl" with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, it takes a serious tone: On that track, Black Thought offers a conflicted view on jailbait.

On their most political -- albeit uneven -- CD to date, the Roots pull no punches, intelligently addressing pharmaceutical companies and global warming ("between the green house gasses, Mother Nature's spinning off its axis") on "Rising Down," and, on the undulating Fela Kuti-inspired "I Will Not Apologize," the quest for integrity.

The music matches the lyrical intention, thick with foreboding (even claustrophobic) droning synths, much like those anchoring "Get Busy." As usual, the Roots are motivated by drummer/ producer ?uestlove's boom-bap -- this is the lone rap act where the rapper isn't the star, which can be problematic. Although he's got much to say, Black Thought tends to say it with little inflection. Even his "solo" "75 Bars," which refers to him spitting for 75 bars straight, begins to drag, as if changing things up equals watering things down. It's not good when the guest stars -- fellow MCs Mos Def, Saigon and Dice Raw -- almost steal the show.

-- Amy Linden, The Associated Press

PORTISHEAD

"3" (Mercury/Island)

Portishead invented a genre with its brilliant 1994 debut, "Dummy." The melange of Beth Gibbons' eerie, disembodied vocals floating amid Geoff Barrow's and Adrian Utley's trip-hop beats, DJ scratching, and glacial guitars and keyboards sounded otherworldly at first, but it quickly became co-opted as a hip sound for boutiques and coffeeshops. A slew of artists followed the lead of the trio from Bristol, England.

Aside from a live album, the band has been silent since its 1997 self-titled second release, so "Three" qualifies as an event. And it does not disappoint: It's a worthy successor, but better still, it's an evolution. "Three" is harder, heavier and louder than its predecessors, while retaining Portishead's characteristic atmospheric beauty.

The churning, Radiohead-like guitar riff of "We Carry On" and the abrasive electronics of "Machine Gun" may not go down well as lifestyle music, but that's a plus.

-- Steve Klinge, The Philadelphia Inquirer

MADONNA

"Hard Candy" (Warner Bros.)

Once again, Madonna has reinvented herself. On "Hard Candy," her 11th studio album and swan song on longtime label Warner Bros., the Queen of Pop veers toward hip-hop by recruiting ubiquitous producers Timbaland and Pharrell Williams. But fans who might wince at the thought of Madonna relinquishing control can relax -- the results sound surprisingly natural, not forced attempts to cash in on the latest trend.

"Candy Shop's" cool, slick percussion (which turns out to be Williams banging bongo-style on paint cans) helps continue "Confessions'" theme ("Get up outta your seat/Come on up to the dance floor") but with a more hip-hop feel and Prince-style backup harmonies. The first single, "4 Minutes," a duet with Justin Timberlake that features Timbaland on backing vocals, offers a different take on "Dancing in the Streets:" "We only got four minutes to save the world/Grab a boy and grab a girl."

"Hard Candy" isn't all sweaty dance and sex anthems. With its Spanish strumming guitars, the wistful "Miles Away" dramatically changes the pace by tapping the tropical spirit of "La Isla Bonita" and modernizing it with pulsing synth riffs. But its mood is far from upbeat, as it feels like a painfully honest glimpse of her relationship with husband Guy Ritchie: "You always love me more/Miles away/I hear it in your voice when you're miles away/You're not afraid to tell me/Miles away/I guess we're at our best when we're miles away."

-- Michael Hamersly, The Philadelphia Inquirer

MUDCRUTCH

"Mudcrutch" (Reprise)

Tom Petty wondered what might have been, and the result is "Mudcrutch," a self-titled country rock tone poem from the reunited band that preceded The Heartbreakers 33 years ago.

"Mudcrutch" is a hazy memory of good times spent in Gainesville, Fla., and Los Angeles chasing the dream of rock 'n' roll stardom -- or at least a steady paycheck.

Petty, Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell went on to fortune and fame after Mudcrutch broke up as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a band with a string of hits few can match.

Mudcrutch's other two members stayed in music, but didn't find success. Tom Leadon, brother of Eagles and Flying Burrito Brothers mainstay Bernie Leadon, was working as a guitar teacher when Petty floated the idea. And Randall Marsh was making ends meet in bar bands.

They drop into Mudcrutch seamlessly, as if 30 years passed by in a heartbeat. The band recorded these songs -- with Petty on bass -- live with no overdubs, and it has the well-worn feel of players who know each other.

-- Chris Talbott, The Associated Press

DIZZEE RASCAL

"Maths + English" (Definitive Jux)

The street-born hip-hop offshoot "grime" was hyped as the next big import from Britain a few years back, but its two most visible practitioners -- Dizzee Rascal and the Def Jam-signed Lady Sovereign -- have had only cult success here. Rascal's third album came out last summer in the U.K. and is finally seeing U.S. release thanks to Definitive Jux, the label run by Company Flow icon El-P. Like El-P, Rascal produces much of his own music, which on "Maths + English" is less choppy. Things are smoother and more spare, though his heavily accented, rapid-fire delivery is no less crass or potent. Lily Allen guests on the bouncy "Wanna Be" and the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner on "Temptation," but neither turns out to be much of an improvement on Rascal's first two records.

-- Doug Wallen, The Philadelphia Inquirer

THE GIBSON BROTHERS "Iron and Diamonds" (Sugar Hill)

Eric and Leigh Gibson hold an obvious reverence for bluegrass tradition. What makes the brothers from Upstate New York special is the way they keep that tradition alive by forging a personal vision that skirts the constant looking back of Ricky Skaggs and steers miles wide of the arty pretensions of the Punch Brothers, to name two string-band acts with less-than-satisfying recent projects.

The Gibsons do so with excellent original songs like the title track, a sharply drawn, empathetic portrait of a mining community that finds release in weekly baseball games (hence, the "diamonds"). But they also do it by cannily incorporating songs from such estimable non-bluegrass writers as Tom Petty, Steve Earle and Julie Miller, showing just how well those voices can fit into the canon.

-- Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer