Amazon.com When they're not fighting hip-hop's "jiggification," the Infesticons have day jobs as some of New York's finest progressive artists. This concept album was conceived by poet, musician, and teacher Mike Ladd and executed by a team including Company Flow, Anti-Pop Consortium, Saul Williams, Sonic Sum, and Liza Jessie Peterson. Assuming characters both good (The Infesticons, freedom-fighting art purists) and evil (The Majesticons, jiggy drones who value style over substance), the all-star team generally stays true to the project's lofty themes. Sparse but friendly production switches moods when scenes change, and the intricacies of single tracks are compromised to craft a more complete album; the underdeveloped beauty of "Cave Theme," for example, actually works well as a link along the unfolding story. This is one of the year's more creative and theme-heavy releases, so bring some patience and a dictionary to really appreciate Ladd's holy war. --Hua Hsu