Short take: Maintains its underground appeal

Known more for its engaging live performances than its studio outputs, Marah is back with Angels of Destruction!, which finds the Philly act in familiar territory. The despondent disc possesses a Stones-y guitar feel; the lively "Santos De Madera" comes the closest to capturing Marah's loose-and-groove concert technique. Despite the much-needed attempt of band visionaries and brothers David and Serge Bielanko to shake things up with a new lineup, the biggest issue with this Marah release (as with most of its albums) is the nondescript feel that deflates any momentum the Americana band with alt-country tastes has going for it. Invariably, if you've already acquired a Marah taste, Angels of Destruction! is right in your wheelhouse. Otherwise, look elsewhere for redemption. John Benson

Short take: You won't get it out of your head

Kylie Minogue is easy to dispel as pop detritus until you hear her albums. 2002's almost criminally irresistible Fever won over many stubborn Americans who had been disdainful of Minogue's globalizing pop. Her 10th album, X, is comparably indomitable, with Kylie channeling M.I.A., Gwen Stefani and even Missy Elliott to almost complete success. She's made the full transition from ordinary to oddity on X, she sounds like her sister Dannii, whose music is often more endearing (for being wackier) than Kylie's. Most of X's songs are "I am at the club and loving it!," but what else would you expect from such an ageless, cancer-surviving pop star, a woman who's an earnest sex icon at almost 40, and whose music hasn't flagged in the last 20 years? Matt Martin

Short take: Plenty of pain and gain

When it came time to release a soundtrack for the ESPN- broadcast macho muscle competition The World's Strongest Man, there apparently wasn't a shortage of bands ready to step up. But instead of catering to an older generation with, say, newer acts performing hard rock covers, the powers that be championed new- millennium relevancy. Naturally, 12 Stones, whose "Adrenaline" is the theme song to this year's season, is included in this 11-track rock radio effort. But it's the special contributions from Korn ("Hold On"), Underoath ("Writing on the Walls") and Mastodon ("The Wolf Is Loose") that make the album worthy of any weight-room playlist. The diversity of metal styles alt-metal, post- grunge, metalcore, thrash and more truly mesh together in fist-in-the-air fashion. John Benson