Her Highness

Medicine is another studio group that owes a strong debt to the Valentines, but Los Angeles-based songwriter/producer Brad Laner finally emerges from Kevin Shields' shadow on Her Highness, the band's third and best album. For the first time, songs such as "All Good Things" and "Candy Candy" are strong enough that they would shine even if you took away the highly stylized production, massive guitars and keyboards, and mysterious layers of strings that are the band's reason for being. --Jim DeRogatis