CRITIC'S CHOICE
REVIEWED BY CHUCK ARNOLD
INDIE ROCK
When it comes to establishing real staying power in the flavor-of-the-month pop scene, the second album is critical. Never more so than for Britain's Arctic Monkeys, whose much-hyped 2006 debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, was an instant classic, the kind that would almost make a sophomore slump inevitable. But Arctic Monkeys bring the heat again on Favourite Worst Nightmare, which comes about as close to matching Whatever as one could have reasonably expected. Although Nick O'Malley has replaced Andy Nicholson on bass, the Monkeys—and their awesome rhythm section—don't miss a beat from the blistering opener "Brianstorm," which, with its gale-force guitars and rumbling drums, sucks you in like a tornado. Elsewhere, these lads get downright funky on propulsive tracks like "D Is for Dangerous." And frontman Alex Turner can still turn out a killer lyric. On "Fluorescent Adolescent" he sings about a girl gone unwild: "You used to get it in your fishnets/Now you only get it in your nightdress." Luckily, though, these Monkeys won't be tamed anytime soon.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Fluorescent Adolescent"
Traffic and Weather
ALT-POP
Fountains of Wayne continue to display a penchant for the witty, detailed storytelling that marked 2003's hit "Stacy's Mom." Here the cast of characters includes a woman who works "behind window B" at the DMV (on "Yolanda Hayes"), a suspicious boyfriend who spies his girl "with some guy wearing light-blue Dockers pants" (on "This Better Be Good") and a couple who have lost their luggage—and their patience—after a long trip (on "Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim"). To go along with their knack for narrative, FOW have a gift for breezy melodies and breezier harmonies that make these power-pop tunes go by like smooth cruising down the highway.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "This Better Be Good"
This is Ryan Shaw
R&B
Newcomer Ryan Shaw possesses a voice and a style that belong to another era, when R&B was about real singers, real instruments and real songs. On his righteously retro debut, the Georgia native channels such pioneers of '60s southern soul as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. In fact, he covers "I Found a Love," a 1962 hit for Pickett with the Falcons, with a passionate, gospel-charged delivery that does his forebear proud. Even better is Shaw's straight-from-the-gut rendition of the Ashford and Simpson gem "I Am Your Man." Meanwhile, three originals written or cowritten by Shaw—including the rousing first single "Nobody"—capture the soulful spirit of the oldies.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "I Am Your Man"
Bucky Covington
REVIEWED BY RALPH NOVAK
COUNTRY
Despite finishing eighth in last season's American Idol, Covington went on to land a record deal with the same label as megasellers Rascal Flatts. It's hard to see him going that far, though, with this banal debut. While "Ain't No Thing" and "The Bible and the Belt" hint that he's harboring some southern-rock chops, he's prone to redneck posturing on tracks like the football-loving "American Friday Night" and the self-congratulatory "Back When We Were Gods."
DOWNLOAD THIS: "The Bible and the Belt"
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Like Arctic Monkeys, the Fratellis are U.K. indie-rock darlings who crank out tunes that are heavy on hooks as well as guitars. You may have already heard this Scottish trio's infectious ditty "Flathead" on the iPod-iTunes commercial with the dancing silhouettes. And there's more good-time rock for the skinny-jeans set on their debut CD, Costello Music.
Timbaland, Timbaland Presents: Shock Value
With some help from friends like Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Missy Elliott, Timbaland steps from behind the boards and shows why he's worth every penny of his producing fees.
David Ball, Heartaches by the Number
Ball's latest is a marvelous set of standards that amounts to a tribute to the country industry that has never fully appreciated him.
Pam Tillis, Rhinestoned
Mel's daughter comes off like one of the girls on this sparkling album, which has a free and easy feel captured by some bluegrassy, down-home arrangements.
Kaiser Chiefs, Yours Truly, Angry Mob
These neo-new wavers are back to incite more '80s revelry with zippy tracks like "Everything Is Average Nowadays" that display uncommon catchiness.
LINKIN PARK shows its soft side on the movingly repentant "What I've Done," from the band's third studio album, Minutes to Midnight, due May 15. At buymusic.com.
MYA returns with the street-but-sweet hip-hop soul jam "Lock U Down" featuring Lil Wayne, from her upcoming CD Liberation. At musicstore.real.com.
MANDY MOORE celebrates her personal growth on the life-affirming "Extraordinary," from the singer-actress's fifth studio disc, Wild Hope, out June 19. At iTunes.com.
SNOW PATROL follows up "Chasing Cars" with another affecting ballad, "Signal Fire," from the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack, which hits stores May 1. At napster.com.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
