It's beginning to look a lot like...Christmas?

Most folks haven't even broke out the pumpkins yet, and already this week's list of new releases brings the first holiday music of the season — from the Little River Band and Spryo Gyra. Incredible.

Other than the early "ho, ho, ho's" what we've got here is a solid, if not exactly earth-shattering selection of new music, including a couple of indie-rock darlings, some classic-rock warhorses, and another round of deluxe reissues from an underground institution.

David Gilmour's first ever live album outside of Pink Floyd carries with it a bit of a sad note, as it is probably the last appearance we will see on record by fellow Floyd-mate Richard Wright, who passed away last week. Wright's keyboards are prominently featured here on live versions of Floyd opuses like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," "Echoes," and in a true "holy shit" moment, an updated version of "Astronomy Domine," as well as songs from last year's Gilmour solo album On An Island. Live In Gdansk comes in both CD and DVD versions.

Jackson Browne, who recently made news by suing Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's campaign over the unauthorized use of his music, returns with Time the Conqueror. Rhino/Sire has it's latest round of deluxe reissues from the Replacements, including the essential release Tim, replete with bonus and previously unreleased material.

Indie rockers Cold War Kids and TV On The Radio both have new discs this week. The Pussycat Dolls have a double CD featuring both a group effort and individual solo tracks (on the second disc). Plain White Ts hope to break the sophomore jinx on their new CD, Big Bad World.

Tom Johnson makes his return as a contributor to NAR this week to talk about a new McCoy Tyner release that features a lot of the sort of people that Mark Saleski likes. Speaking of Saleski, he did not contribute a pick this week. But before we get to Mr. Johnson's pick, regular NAR contributor El Bicho picks on the new one from Kings Of Leon.

The Followill clan returns with their fourth album, Only By The Night.  As a fan, I was very much looking forward it, but it comes up short if you liked their previous efforts.

When “Closer” opens, strange atmospheric sounds will make think you there is some sort of labeling error until you hear Caleb’s distinctive voice wailing away. The fuzzed-out guitars on "Crawl" bring the band to more familiar-sounding territory and the music really cuts loose as the song closes.

I am fine with a band experimenting; however, Kings of Leon don't reach the ragged glory that made their sound so dynamic and dangerous. The songs here have become even more polished than before, a big mistake made by them and their producers. They aren't your band anymore; they are your younger sister's band. Hopefully they can salvage these tracks in a live setting and scuff them up a bit.