The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

“Given that he finds regular employment as frontman of alt-rock phenomenon Arctic Monkeys, it’s unlikely that Alex Turner has any immediate plans to give up the day job. But should he ever decide he’s finished with Monkey business, he could do a lot worse than concentrate on this extracurricular collaboration with Miles Kane of rising U.K. band the Rascals. Already No. 1 in Britain, “Understatement” is a far cry from the Monkeys’ stock-in-trade of grubby urban realism, instead resembling a long-lost Scott Walker album or James Bond soundtrack. Songs like “Calm Like You” and “Black Plant” positively swing, and despite the presence of a 22-piece orchestra, the lyrical bite and brisk pacing mean things never topple into cheesy pastiche. Moonlighting hasn’t been this much fun since Bruce Willis had hair.—Mark Sutherland”

Tokio Hotel - Scream

“Now the youthful foursome, led by the wildly androgynous 18-year-old Bill Kaulitz, takes on America with “Scream,” which features English versions of material from their two studio albums, “Schrei” and “Zimmer 483.” Tokio Hotel’s forte are über-anthemic power ballads, delivered in a Teutonic accent with heartbreaking sincerity (”Rescue Me,” “Sacred”). Kaulitz’s gender-bending vocals make “On the Edge” sound like Nena covering Nirvana, and the soaring slow dance “By Your Side,” from the movie “Prom Night,” couldn’t be more arena-ready. Emo kids will flock to German class when they hear the original version of “Monsoon,” the band’s biggest hit, which closes this strangely fascinating Euro-glam effort. —Sven Philipp”