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New Yorker Andrew Wyatt fronts the brainy, unsung rock band Fires of Rome. Swedes Pontus Winnberg and Christian Karlsson, a.k.a. Bloodshy & Avant, mastermind transatlantic smashes like Britney Spears' "Toxic." But here, the trio's talents commingle easily in cotton-candy psychedelia that sticks plush electro effects where backward guitar solos and frilly paisley shirts would ordinarily hang.

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M.I.A. collaborators Diplo and Switch recorded this futuristic dancehall set in Jamaica with cameos both local (Ms. Thing) and international (Santigold), and the results are packaged as the debut of cartoonish, laser-limbed vampire killer Major Lazer.

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"I need a change of skin," cries Brian Molko on "Kitty Litter," the lead track of this London trio's sixth album. And along come veteran alt-metal producer David Bottrill and upstart California drummer Steve Forrest to heighten a glam-punk bombast that lost its exoticism when mainstream emo did it bigger, with a better profit margin.

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It's a blessing and a curse that the sad young men of Hüsker Dü didn't meet a tragic end so their legacies could've been washed in unconditional love. But having dodged sainthood, Bob Mould continues to make things messy: Now he documents a middle-age gay life damped by abusive relationships, empty sport sex, and self-knowledge that leads to solitude.

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These days everyone seems to need a hippie-folk Mister Rogers to tuck them in. Sam Beam's breathy croon is as soothing as a lullaby, but just as limited -- which becomes an issue over two discs and 23 songs. Yet that very sameness helps this patchwork of singles, soundtrack cuts, and unreleased tracks cohere.

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Like most extreme acts, this trash-talking MC's strengths are best showcased in wham-bam singles. To sustain interest between fourth-album climaxes, the Berlin-based sleaze queen collaborates with London's Simian Mobile Disco, who ditch guitars in favor of diverse synthetic settings: For "Lose You," she even breathily surrenders to ethereal Italo-disco.