Swell

Sounds Like: Acoustic music for your next road-trip mix tape

See Also: American Analog Set

Whenever You're Ready

Swell's latest album, Whenever You're Ready, a collection of 15 pop acoustic songs, can be enjoyed momentarily.

In fact, both the current and the archaic meaning of "momentarily" apply when listening to Whenever You're Ready. The sooner listeners get past the rather dull opener, "Soon Enough," the faster they can enjoy "Next To Nothing," the album's second track. Easily the album's best song, "Next to Nothing" has layers of vocal harmony, acoustic guitar, gentle organ and found samples over a driving drumbeat. Listen to the song moment by moment for maximum enjoyment. But the next few good tracks are buried 10 songs deep into the album. "Miss It," track 12, and the last two tracks are the highlights of the CD. It takes just a moment of track skipping to get to them; but honestly, who wants to waste their time doing that?

Swell will be performing at Plush on Saturday.

- Jessica Suarez

Paul Schneider

Sounds Like: Power pop/rock that's mellow

See Also: Superdrag, Elvis Costello

Escape Velocity

Take me away, Paul.

Let's fly through the night sky on a magic carpet, absorbing the singer-songwriter stylings of your solo debut.

Even your unfathomably lame guitar solos right out of Weezer's Green Album won't stop me from falling for you. You - with your moody rocker "Heaven in Hand" and your back-porch country ballad "Tourniquet"- have won my heart. Perhaps you will replace the recently departed, dearly beloved Superdrag. Perhaps you don't have the chops to rock. Although, you give it a noble try with "Waiting."

Oh, Paul. You run the gamut of rock and roll. At times you look so cute with your indie tunes, and then you show me how great of a provider you might be with radio-friendly tunes. You make me laugh, you make me cry, you even surprise me ("Just Enough").

I'll see you Monday, 9:30 p.m. at Plush.

- Nate Buchik

Shannon Mier

Sounds Like: A junior high version of Maroon 5

See Also: Fountains of Wayne, Maroon 5

On the Failure of Science to Understand My Spirit

In Shannon Mier's debut album, On the Failure of Science to Understand My Spirit, confusion and indecision abound.

It's beside the point that Shannon is male, but it's the inconsistency between the whiny, bland vocals and the wannabe rock guitar sounds that make the album a far stretch for quality music.

Mier tries too hard with weak lyrical similes - "as red as valentines" - random key changes and so much variety, it makes the album sound like two different bands.

Although some guitar riffs are catchy, nothing stands out, which makes the album almost unbearable to listen to in one sitting.

And the lyrics don't get much better. Mier's thematic lyrical choice echoes that of Maroon 5's Songs About Jane but fails to produce anything of substance or depth.

There may be some potential here, but it would require a separation of vocals and guitar. Pick a sound and stick with it, but don't pick from the variety existing on this album.

- Lauren Hillery

Damageplan

Sounds Like: Stonewall Jackson Jean-Paul Sarte with a flying-V guitar

See Also: Pantera, Sepultura

New Found Power

If ever Pantera was worth listening to (and it wasn't), it was because of drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell. These two prog-metal wankers' new record proves that, while metal may never gain mainstream acceptance, it can at least mine the rich veins of quasi-philosophical drivel. "Identity murdered, malicious intent/I'm recreating myself at last/Rise up from destruction, start over again/Reborn. I'm now erasing the past." Deep. Off-kilter, squealing guitar solos; a singer who sounds like someone really hurt his feelings in middle school; and rhythms that reek of a newly-purchased double-kick pedal - metal's future sounds like the Confederacy's past. Straight down to the obligatory acoustic album closer that says, "Hey, we may be metalheads employing clichŽd genre conventions with eerily anachronistic 'Johnny Reb' undertones, but we have a softer side." New Found Power feels like a day-old loaf of bread: hard, stale and crusty.

- Mark Sussman

Twista

Sounds Like: Overproduced and easily digested hip-hop

See Also: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Ludacris, Timbaland

Kamikaze

Twista and I got off on the wrong foot. He crashed my computer twice, but unlike a true kamikaze, he unfortunately came back.

There's only so much that good producing and featured artists can do for your album.

Kanye West saves the three tracks he produced: "Slow Jamz" - which we've all had stuck in our head for weeks - "Overnight Celebrity" and "One Last Time."

Ludacris shows up Twista on the track "Higher," and R. Kelly takes care of "So Sexy." Twista is fast, and every once in a while, he'll come up with some good rhymes. But the best parts of the album are the parts that Twista had nothing to do with.

Here's the deal: Hip-hop is so hot right now that you have to come up with something more original than this to make much of an impression. At least it isn't emo.

- Gabe Joselow