Nick Curran & the Lowlifes: ‘Reform School Girl,’ (Electro Groove)
♦♦♦♦
Nick Curran probably wishes he had been born at the same time rock ‘n’ roll was. But then he’d never have been able to merge all his Little Richard/Chubby Checker/Big Bopper/Chuck Berry/girl-group/doo-wop/blues belter influences with his Ramones fixation and AC/DC adoration to deliver a pure party album like this one.
It’s a total rave-up, full of fast-paced riffs, honking horns, jumpin’ and jivin’ (“Ain’t No Good”) and a few Beatles screams for good measure — not to mention a bit of tortured, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins-style blues (“Dream Girl”) — all filtered through vintage analog gear to give it a true old-school vibe. Curran’s recent diagnosis, at age 32, of tongue cancer is, we hope, just a temporary setback. We need him to keep these good times rollin’ for ages to come –  regardless of what era he chooses to reference.
— Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Little Richard, The Ramones

Brandon Rhyder: ‘Head Above Water,’ (Reserve)
♦♦♦
Brandon Rhyder is a soulful, melodic songwriter who also knows how to rock out. For some reason, however, he seems subdued on this album. And the songs seem less passionate, more … well, not quite calculated, but somehow honed — in the way that cranking out tunes for a publishing company (the prestigious Harlan Howard Songs) might polish them, while stealing a little of their spirit.
He’s out of that deal, so maybe his next disc will recapture the brilliance Rhyder is capable of achieving. There are exceptions on “Head Above Water,” of course: The title tune is a gorgeous ballad, and on “Breathe,” he lets loose in a John Doe-like way. The hidden track is a cute, Vaudevillian love ditty that deserves billing (what’s up with hidden tracks, anyway?). But “Ultimate Deceiver” plods, and clunky phrases like “egotistical manipulator” further trip it up. And “Battery” is a rewrite of his earlier “Back Roads.” He can do better. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Walt Wilkins, Pat Green

We Are Wolves: ‘Invisible Violence’ (Dare To Care)
♦♦♦♦
Balance is a key word when it comes to the music of We Are Wolves on “Invisible Violence” – balance between pop and rock, between aggression and melody, between guitars and synthesizers, between dance and rock beats. The result is a spirited CD that by turns rocks with early punk passion (on the super-catchy “Holding Hands” and “Me As Enemy”), blends synth-pop and some sturdy guitar rock on “Dreams,” and delivers some synth rock that gets a gritty edge from its hooky rhythm guitar on “Near Fear.”
Want a little something with more of a synth-pop edge, try “La Rue Oblique,” which mixes its keyboard-filled sound with a rhythm track that boasts a steady beat overlayed with rumbling drums. In some ways, the sound of “Invisible Violence” recalls the heyday of new wave (think the Cars, Magazine, and to an extent, Blondie). But We Are Wolves has a gritty rock edge those bands never quite achieved. It all makes for a fresh sounding and highly entertaining CD that should go down as one of the stronger efforts of 2010. – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Ghostland Observatory

Neil Diamond: ‘Hot August Night/NYC,’  (Columbia)
♦♦♦
In 1972, Neil Diamond recorded a handful of concerts and came up with “Hot August Night,” the live album that has become the definitive record of his five-decade career. He reprises that title and many of the songs on “Hot August Night/NYC,” a two-CD set that captures a series of Diamond concerts in New York’s Madison Square Garden from Aug. 2008.
This is the whole Diamond show, from “Holly Holy” through “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” with a half-dozen bonus tracks from other locales thrown in to fill out the second disc. With the exception of the acoustic ballad “Home Before Dark,” this isn’t the stripped-down Diamond embraced by hipsters after his Rick Rubin-produced albums. It is Neil blasting away with horns and all on hits like “Cherry Cherry,” “Solitary Man” and “Sweet Caroline” — exactly what his fans come to hear. In one sense, there’s nothing all that new on “Hot August Night/NYC.” But it stands as a contrast with a far younger Diamond, showing how songs and performance change over time. Importantly, it also shows the enduring nature of Diamond and his songs, which still connect nearly 40 years later, even if they’re a little less dynamic. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Michael Buble, Tom Jones

Yeasayer: ‘Odd Blood’ (Secretly Canadian)
♦♦♦ 1/2
The field of acts exploring electronic instrumentation and the synth/electro-pop genre as a whole is getting mighty crowded these days. But Yeasayer has a bit different take on the genre, injecting a sunny melodic pop element into its songs – and dare it be said, even a bit of goofiness into what is often a stiff and mechanical musical form.
On the group’s new CD, “Odd Blood,” playfulness is a common thread, as many of the songs weave together an impressive array of synthesized and processed tones into songs that put the priority first and foremost on delivering a strong hook. For instance, on “Amblin Alp,” a woozy keyboard line tops off this song’s flighty melody. On “Rome,” the group gets a little jungle fever with its percolating rhythms and bouncy melody. “Mondegreen” offers up some edgy fun with its clap-handed beat and sassy melodic riffs. Even “I Remember,” the song that most closely resembles the synth-pop blueprint of groups like New Order, gets a sweet touch from its falsetto vocal.
Not all of the songs hit the mark; “ONE” and “Love Me Girl” both are weighed down by lackluster melodies. But more often than not, Yeasayer breathes plenty of life into a sound that stretches the boundaries of electronic music with its sonic imagination and plenty of old fashioned pop sense. – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: The Polyphonic Spree, Animal Collective