New Releases

Arctic Monkeys: ‘Humbug’
3 1/2 stars
Third albums can be the most telling releases of a band’s career. This is when a group shows whether it can stay creative and grow beyond its initial sound. British sensation the Arctic Monkeys hit this crucial stage on “Humbug,” and for the most part passes the test.
The band has done some growing since its 2007 sophomore CD, “Favorite Worst Nightmare.” The angular and spiky melodies that originally defined the Arctic Monkeys still are present, but the group’s music is less frenetic on “Humbug.” Songs like “”Crying Lightning” and “My Propeller” find the group dialing back the tempos, which helps to highlight the rich melodies of the songs. And yes, there are still a few frisky rockers on “Humbug,” such as “Potion Approaching” and “Dangerous Animals.”
“Humbug” overall is not quite as immediately catchy as the first two Arctic Monkeys CDs, and a couple of songs fall flat. But the musical growth on “Humbug” is encouraging and suggests that the Arctic Monkeys will have much more to offer as the band’s career progresses. — Alan Sculley
If you like this, try the Fratellis, Vampire Weekend

Brendan Benson: ‘My Old, Familiar Friend’
4 stars
The Raconteurs, Brendan Benson’s band with Jack White of the White Stripes, has lifted him from obscurity into the rock spotlight. But those who have heard Benson’s three other solo albums, which date back to the mid-1990s, know he’s a talented pop songwriter in his own right.
For newcomers, Benson’s new solo CD, “My Old, Familiar Friend,” will give plenty of Raconteurs fans a chance to start catching up on what they’ve been missing. Like his other CDs, “My Old, Familiar Friend” is a pure pop CD. It proves that he’s one of the better artists at his craft in rock. Sunny uptempo tunes like “Eyes on the Horizon,” “Borrow” and “A Whole Lot Better” evoke thoughts of classic Squeeze with their infectious melodies and synthesizer lines woven within the guitar pop sound.  On the ballad “You Make A Fool Out Of Me,” Benson wisely strips back the instrumentation, which puts the attention squarely on this song’s lovely descending chord structure. Sharply crafted and arguably Benson’s best solo effort, “My Old, Familiar Friend” is a strong contender for power pop CD of the year. — Alan Sculley
If you like this, try Squeeze, the 88.

Yo La Tengo: ‘Popular Songs’
3 1/2 stars
It’s hard to guess what the title of Yo La Tengo’s new album really means. Is it a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact this trio isn’t likely to ever have a true pop hit? Or is it an ironic commentary on the state of pop today? Or is it an expressed hope that its mix of songs represents what should be popular?
The latter is the best answer, for Yo La Tengo makes very good records that deserve to be heard by a wide audience. “Popular Songs,” the Hoboken trio’s 12th studio album in 25 years, is made up of nine shorter songs and three very long ones. The first nine skip through styles from Motown to folk pop lounge, all filtered through a guitar-based indie rock sensibility. The last three do the near impossible – jamming in an experimental way without boring. No song sounds like any other, yet “Popular Songs” fits together seamlessly. Maybe it can become popular. — L. Kent Wolgamott
If you like this, try: Sonic Youth, Wavves

Reissue
The Beatles: The remastered Beatles album catalog
5 stars
Overseers of the Beatles’ interests seem to have a never-ending stream of ingenious ways to get Beatles fans to part with their money—and create new fans along the way. The two latest volleys are the simultaneous release of “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game and the entire U.K. catalog remastered in stereo. But rest assured that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono don’t grant permission for any old thing to be slapped together.
In the case of the newly re-released remasters of the Beatles 12 studio albums, to say they nailed it is an understatement.
Each of these albums has the original artwork and liner notes, plus new historical and recording notes, and, for now, mini-documentaries about the making of the albums.
But packaging alone wouldn’t be a reason to care. What gives these discs legitimacy is that they lift the music to a new level of vividness. As if the Beatles’ music wasn’t indelible enough, sounds you never noticed before suddenly assert themselves, further affirming the band’s collective brilliance.  — Lynne Margolis

Piano riffs, handclaps, the clip of Starr’s cymbal, and that Hofner bass and Gretsch twang in “It Won’t Be Long.” (And what is that on “Honeypie”? A cardboard box being thumped?) They played anything and everything, and these versions should at last put to rest any doubts about the amazing skill level and versatility of McCartney, Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison. But they do even more: For example, the bite of Eric Clapton’s guitar solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” cuts even deeper, making Harrison’s song of mourning for the lost Beatles brotherhood even more poignant.
It’s a little disconcerting to listen to the U.K. releases if the U.S. versions are ingrained in your brain, because so many songs were switched out, dropped or combined on other discs until the Apple years. But that just leaves open the possibility that the Capitol albums, the first eight of which were released in two stereo/mono box sets a few years ago, will have to undergo remastering, as well. In the meantime, these are worth getting used to.
— Lynne Margolis
If you like these, try Big Star, Badfinger

Radiohead: “Amnesiac,” “Kid A,” “Hail to the Thief” (Capital/EMI)
3 1/2 stars
Some reissues feel like revelations, and other feel like, well, rehashes. Or dredging. These Radiohead repackagings, a few months behind Capitol/EMI’s re-release of the band’s initial three albums, would fall into the latter category were it not for the occasional mesmerizing B-side or live track included on the bonus CDs.

These tracks include the live “Fog (Again)” and stripped “Gagging Order,” both on “Hail to the Thief.” Devoid of the electronic blips and blurbs that characterize Radiohead’s later hypnotica, they’re even more powerful. Still, it remains questionable that anyone but diehard Radiohead fans would feel the need to rush out and grab these double discs, or the even more deluxe versions that include DVDs and postcards. And, unlike their digital release of “In Rainbows,” you don’t get to pay what you want for these reissues. If you can hold out, wait until the band gets to make its own historical statement.
— Lynne Margolis
If you like these, try Beck, Arcade Fire