Just one month after a split release with Superdrag, The Anniversary is once again flexing its indie muscles with its second full-length release, “Your Majesty.”

This rumored ode to “Alice in Wonderland” borrows from the Beatles and Pink Floyd to make an album brimming with a late ’60s, early ’70s feel that glues the songs together to create a cohesive story of its own. This album is a tremendous step up from their debut, “Designing a Nervous Breakdown.” With help from producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Foo Fighters, Moby) these Midwesterners have rendered their sound almost completely unrecognizable from their tunes of yore.

Josh Berwanger and Justin Roelofs lend their lyrical ingenuity to keyboard-driven melodies backed with Adrianne Pope’s lush vocals. Berwanger and Roelofs’ vocals have matured into The Anniversary’s pristine sound, while the lyrical blend is much more melodic. This album is sprinkled with enough of a pop element to make it more accessible to the budding underground scene.

“Crooked Crown” is perhaps the catchiest song on the album, urging you to “Shake your hips pretty darling” while the kicky beat encourages you to do just that. While some of the tunes are pretty rocking, songs such as “The Ghost of the River” stream into a graceful mix of looping guitar riffs and piano-laden bliss.

Overall, this album is a motivated leap in the right direction. People who weren’t big fans of “Designing a Nervous Breakdown” should give The Anniversary a second chance with “Your Majesty.” Longtime fans of the band might have some qualms about the new album, but after a couple listens should be able to warm up to it.

– Erin Randolph

The “MTV Unplugged” series has seen many great performances and albums over the years including acts like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and album of the year winners Eric Clapton and Tony Bennett.

MTV’s latest installment of the “Unplugged” catalog, which features hip-hop specialist Jay-Z with back up music provided by The Roots band, has all the right elements, making this an instant classic and one of the best albums out right now.

Jay-Z is a pretty tight rapper with a good collection of hits which are all featured on this album, but it’s The Roots band and Jay-Z’s interaction with his fan-packed audience that make this record so appealing.

The Roots are a sweet hip-hop group to begin with, and hearing them play Jay-Z’s hooks with real instruments makes you wonder why more rappers aren’t using live music behind their flow.

It’s great to hear hits like “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Big Pimpin'” and “I Just Want To Love U” but songs like “Heart of the City,” “Ain’t No” and “Can’t Knock the Hustle” featuring Mary J. Blige are the tracks that steal the show.

The Roots rhythm section busts out some killer beats and hooks while back up singers and Blige beautify these songs with melody.

It’s obvious Jay-Z and his fans had a great time during this performance and that makes it all the more fun to listen to. It’s no wonder it took less than 24 hours to decide to make this legendary performance into a record. Enjoy.

– Kyle Moss

“Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” is the new double-disc record from progressive hard rock/metal band Dream Theater.

Dream Theater composes its songs like a classical symphony, combining layer upon layer of sound to produce complex sonic epics. The group uses keyboards and plenty of sampling, and often employs the help of an orchestra. In fact, disc two is actually one 42-minute song with eight different sections.

One of the reasons Dream Theater has survived so long is the ability of the band to comfortably play within numerous styles. The musicianship of this record cannot be matched by many major label acts today.

When Dream Theater was born, it was expected that bands had top-notch guitar players. Dream Theater has that guitar player and is at its best on songs like “The Glass Prison” and “Misunderstood” when guitarist John Petrucci cuts loose with blistering guitar work. Petrucci’s shred style is reminiscent of legendary players like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

Mike Portnoy is probably one of the tightest drummers in rock today, and his pummeling double-kick drums are a great compliment to Petrucci’s playing.

“Six Degrees of Turbulence” can get a little overwhelming at times, especially when song lengths get into the double-digits. But it is also a great example of songwriting and playing that is sorely missed in today’s hard rock/metal music.

– Trevor Fisher