By the writers of Last Word Features

Based on a five-star rating.

Barenaked Ladies: ‘All In Good Time’ (EMI)
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The past two years have had their share of less-than-happy times for the normally cheery Barenaked Ladies. Most notably, there was the departure of singer/guitarist Steven Page, who was considered by many to be the group’s lead songwriter. In addition, guitarist/singer Ed Robertson (who co-wrote many of the group’s songs with Page) survived a crash of his private plane in 2008 and lost his mother to cancer.

These events created legitimate questions about what the Barenaked Ladies would sound like with the new Page-less four-man lineup. Perhaps because of the difficult times that preceded the making of “All In Good Time,” the group has emerged sounding notably darker and often edgier. With Robertson taking the lead as songwriter, the group’s harder-hitting sound emerges on songs like “Summertime” (with its especially meaty electric guitar riffs), “Every Subway Car” and “Another Heartbreak,” while the occasional ballads (like “This Love We’re In” and “I Saw It”) sound more introspective. Even the attempt on “Four Seconds,” to write a lighter and humorous tune in the spirit of “If I Had A Million Dollars,” sounds a bit forced. Fortunately, the group hasn’t lost its knack for pop songcraft, and “All In Good Time” has its share of strong songs. They just lack much of the levity and spirit of fun that up to now had been the Barenaked Ladies’ signature.
– Alan Sculley
By if you like: the Goo Goo Dolls, Train

Seabear: ‘We Built A Fire’ (Morr Music)
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“I’ll Build You a Fire,” “Cold Summer,” “Warm Blood,” “In Winter’s Eyes,” “The Fire Dies Down”: It makes perfect sense that so many of Seabear’s song titles contain references to temperatures and seasons, whether literal or metaphorical: The band is, after all, from Iceland. But unlike fellow Arctic Circle resident Björk, this band’s music contains no sharp edges. It’s all soft, dreamy, light, airy — like watching the aurora borealis shimmer through flakes of falling snow, perhaps.
Violin fills, xylophone chimes, autoharp plucks and childlike voices waft through these tunes like floating feathers, giving the whole affair an almost narcotic feel, until they momentarily shake us out of our reverie with an electric chord or dissonant note before lulling us again with more gossamer beauty. Seabear sings in English, but the words seem almost superfluous; it’s the sonic mood the band evokes that captivates.
— Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Rós

Joe Bonamassa: ‘Black Rock’ (J&R Adventures)
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Though just 32, Bonamassa has established himself on recent albums as one of the finest blues-rock artists on the scene. With “Black Rock,” the emphasis is on the rock part of his style. That much is obvious by the brash guitar chords and crashing drums that greet listeners on the opening track, a cover of Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away.” From there Bonamassa finds creative ways to interpret John Hiatt’s “I Know A Place” (which takes on a notably harder edge), Jeff Beck’s “Spanish Boots” and even Leonard Cohen’s “Bird On A Wire.”
– Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Cash Box Kings: ‘I-94 Blues’ (Blue Bella)
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Drawing from a blues well that ranges from the festive jump blues of a band like Roomful Of Blues, to the deep Delta-by-way-of-Chicago sounds of a Muddy Waters, the Cash Box Kings certainly have a foot – if not an entire leg — in classic post-World War II blues. In fact, the immersion is deep enough that an original song on “I-94” like “St. Paul Wintertime Blues” sounds as authentic as the group’s covers of a pair of Waters tunes (“Hard Days Blues”) and “Country Boy”). So you’ll hear a few songs that recapture the sassy harmonica, stinging guitar and shuffling beat of classic Waters (Hard Days Blues).
– Alan Sculley

Coco Montoya: ‘I Want It All Back’ (Blind Pig)
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If you hit “play” and expect Coco Montoya’s searing blues guitar to come back at’cha, you’ll be knocked out by what you hear instead: tasty licks and smooth, R&B-flavored vocals, delivered with restraint and finesse. Perhaps that’s partly the influence of co-producers Keb’ Mo,’ who sits back on rhythm guitar, and Keb’ sideman Jeff Paris, whose keys and backing vocals are essential elements.
“Hey Senorita” and the title tune have gospel overtones, and Montoya’s take on the Marvelettes’ classic, “Forever,” is quite soulful. The album loses momentum with a string of ballads, but picks up again when Rod Piazza steps in on harmonica and Honey Alexander adds piano to “Fannie Mae.” Though several cuts (including the cover of Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby”) wouldn’t be out of place on smooth-jazz or soft-rock radio, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But sustaining the energy would have been even better. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Keb’ Mo’, Eric Clapton