NEW AND IN REVIEW
The Who
Endless Wire
(Universal)
Expectations are hard enough to deal with when you're a reunited rock legend. But when you take 24 years off in between albums — as The Who did before its new work "Endless Wire" — living up to the hype is likely unfeasible.
But even considering the hoopla, it's hard to not see Endless Wire (the followup to, er, It's Hard) as anything but a bit inadequate.
The arm-swinging, maximum R&B has been matured too much into a polished, reserved style. Understandably, the rebellion that made the quartet renowned has been replaced by a more careful sound.
It does work at times, however, as "Black Widow's Eyes," "Fragments" and "Two Thousand Years" do contain the magic of the Daltrey/ Townshend chemistry, but the grand mini-opera "Wire & Glass," like the album it comes from, falls short of previous epics.
Incubus
Light Grenades
(Epic)
Released during its commercial peak, 2004's A Crow Left of the Murder was a momentum killer for Incubus, lacking the heaviness of the band's early work, and the atmospheric rawness of the great Morning View, it flew by with very little impact.
Light Grenades is the right album at the right time for the Brandon Boyd-led quintet, containing some of its best works of melody in "Oil and Water" and "Diamonds and Coal," and perhaps its best single to date with the emotionally-fueled chorus "Dig."
Incubus is back on track as one of America's most creative bands.
Switchfoot
Oh! Gravity
(Columbia)
With a sleek, positive rock style, Switchfoot is an understandable favorite on today's scene. Its sixth album, Oh! Gravity, shows the smarts of the group, an attempt to stay appealing yet branch out and try different things.
Sure, the title-track and others have the familiar optimistic charge, but the shifty rhythms of "Dirty Second Hands" and "Head Over Heels (In This Life)" add a sense of adventure.
The Mars Volta
Amputechture
(GSL)
Three years ago, if somebody used the word "boring" in the same sentence as The Mars Volta, they'd see a look that only an At the Drive-In reunion would bring: Shock.
But it's happened with Amputechture and the Volta is shockingly guilty of repeating itself.
The wondrous guitar work, epic multi-part songs and Cedric Bixler's howl were brilliant on the band's first two works, but by this disc has become tiresome and overdone.
Kasabian
Empire
(RCA)
A breakthrough for a band whose 2004 debut was way overlooked, Empire, with Kasabian's electro Brit-pop style and a sonic boom impact, should receive its commercial due — literally.
In fact, the glowing "Sun Rise Light Flies" has already been used on TV spots and is a glorious achievement in sound.
Deftones
Saturday Night Wrist
(Maverick)
On a steady decline since 2000's White Pony (an absolute masterwork), Deftones are at an interesting point in the band's run, victims of a disastrous music scene and, let's face it, a few years of questionable output.
Saturday Night Wrist opens with fire on "Hole in the Earth," but the rest of the disc is shaky and unfocused.
The Decemberists
The Crane Wife
(Capitol)
It's painful to refer to a band on Capitol Records as "indie-rock," but, for the purpose of today's classification, it probably is the best tag.
The Decemberists' major-label debut is a crafty work of broad instrumentation, but, unlike many of its colleagues' albums, features great songwriting (the title track and "When the War Came") that mixes thoughtful with engaging.
NICK'S PICK
Kate Bush
Hounds of Love
(1985/EMI)
By one of music history's most eccentric and brilliant female artists, this 1985 landmark work contains her biggest American hit "Running Up That Hill."
Contact freelance music writer Nick Brandon at NickBrandonMusicBeat@hotmail.com
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