The Lobo Threesome

Second Day Red

Gallery of Strangers

Available now

2.5/5

The sound of Second Day Red is highly original and highly derivative at the same time. It blurs genre lines. At one moment the band sounds like ordinary alternative rock - albeit, whiny alternative rock. The next moment, it sounds more like a country band than anything else, and the listener does not need to be told that the band hails from Texas. That comes through loud and clear.

It also sounds a bit like a poor man's Counting Crows, but that isn't as bad as it sounds. It does at least sound like Counting Crows' earlier work, rather than the later stuff that appeared after Adam Duritz convinced himself that his lyrics were comparable to aural Shakespeare.

The problem with this album is while it ties together well thematically, none of the individual songs stand out. Not one of them even sticks out negatively. The whole album blurs together, and because there isn't anything in particular that is worth going back to, it just fades into fairly unremarkable background noise. It's pleasant to listen to, but pleasant to listen to doesn't sell concert tickets.

If you like this music, you might also enjoy:

Counting Crows ~ August and Everything After

Death Cab For Cutie ~ Narrow Stairs

Mudcrutch ~ Mudcrutch

Tony Furtado

Deep Water

Available Nov. 4

5/5

Concert violinists wish they could play their violins as skillfully as Tony Furtado plays his banjo. His voice ain't bad, either. However, classifying him as folk is disingenuous. It's hard to describe exactly what he does, though "concert banjo" might come close. The sound is too clean for folk music. When the listener starts to focus on any given song as a whole rather than on the sound of the banjo, the banjo starts to fade in its prominence and becomes a fully realized element of the melody.

A couple of songs stand out. "Deep Water" is one of those songs that John Cusack's character in "High Fidelity" would have described as the reason his generation is such a mess. It's that good.

Another track that jumps out is the one song on the album that actually does sound like folk music, "Mississippi Sage." On this track, the banjo doesn't sink into the melody at all. It is the melody. It's one of the best examples of old-school banjo playing since the end of the 20th century.

Overall, Deep Water is a great album. If you like folk music, or even acoustic indie rock, you'll love Deep Water. If you also happen to love concerts, Tony Furtado will be at the El Rey Theater on Nov. 6.

If you like this music, you might also enjoy:

Ry Cooder ~ I, Flathead

Bela Fleck ~ Perpetual Motion

Adam Faucett ~ The Great Basking Shark

Robin Thicke

Something Else

Available Now

2/5

I'm not a huge fan of R&B. I'll make that clear right off. The fact that this album didn't instantly make the bile rise out of my stomach the very second the sound hit my ears says something positive about it.

One thing that can be said about R&B is that it doesn't change much. This album would not have sounded out of place in the early '80s. That says something negative about the entire genre - namely, who actually listens to this stuff? Somebody must, because albums don't end up No. 3 on the Billboard 200 without a large number of people willing to open their wallets for them.

Is it nostalgia? Do people ache for a simpler time when songs about one's sexual prowess were still edgy and new? Could anyone get away with the name Robin Thicke anywhere else but R&B without starring in porn?

Don't get me wrong. Something Else is not a terrible album. It has a clean, well-produced sound. But no matter what I do, when I listen to this album, I can't help but be reminded of a fairly torturous drive through west Texas with one of my aunts, where the only music she was willing to listen to was old R&B albums from the '80s.

Ah. That did it. There's the bile.

If you like this music, you might also enjoy:

Eric Benet ~ Love & Life

Ne-Yo ~ Year of the Gentleman

Raphael Saadiq ~ The Way I See It