- Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (8-song Sampler): Is this teaser for the highly anticipated collaboration between Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse just "Crazy" and the seven dwarves? Yes and no. "Crazy" is a monumental tune, instantly iconic. The other seven songs don't quite have the same immediate impact, but are still clever and enjoyable. Recommended tracks: "Gone Daddy Gone" (a rollicking Violent Femmes cover), "Storm Coming". Listen to "Crazy" on Gnarls Barkley's MySpace page. St. Elsewhere will be available May 9 from Downtown Records.

- Barbara Morgenstern - The Grass is Always Greener: Like a less melancholic version of The Notwist, Morgenstern deftly combines shimmering synthetics with humanizing vocals and acoustic instruments, creating songs both futuristic and openly emotional. The palette used on The Grass is Always Greener is simple: (mostly) acoustic piano and drums, elegant electronic flourishes and Morgenstern's light and somewhat sad vocals, sung mostly in German. Recommended tracks: "The Operator", "Alles Was Lebt Bewegt Sich" (translated "Everything Which Lives Moves). Listen to Barbara Morgenstern on MySpace. The Grass is Always Greener will be released May 2 by Monika records.

- The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living: Mike Skinner returns with his third record as The Streets and while he's not quite standing still, the best you can say about this album is he's merely running in place. What disappoints most is seeming disappearance of a memorable single or storyline. I listened to the album at least a half-dozen times and nothing stuck in my brain quite like Skinner's past work. Download "When You Wasn't Famous" (MP3), courtesy of addVice. The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living is released April 25 in the U.S. by Vice Records.

- ¡Forward Russia! - Give Me a Wall: ¡Forward Russia! have all of the qualities you would expect from a band receiving love from the MySpace world and the blogosphere. First, they have the silly name. Second, they're white kids with guitars (with bonus points for being from England), playing an au courant style of funky, aggressive and derivative indie rock that surely get the kids jumping at Pianos. Certainly they must be fun live, but please hold the revolution until ¡Forward Russia! write some better songs. Dance To The Radio will release Give Me a Wall in the U.K. on May 15.

- The Church - Uninvited Like the Clouds: Church fans, feel free to fill in the long-standing blank next to "Best album since..." because Uninvited Like The Clouds is it.  For me, it's "since Starfish", which I know is perhaps foolish given I haven't listened to a full Church album since 1992's Priest = Aura. Uninvited Like the Clouds will be released on Tuesday, April 18 by Cooking Vinyl.