By the writers of Last Word Features

Gaslight Anthem, ‘American Slang’ (SideOne Dummy)
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<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> The direct references to Bruce Springsteen are gone on “American Slang,” the third album from Gaslight Anthem. But the New Jersey band still works in the anthemic, working-class rock associated with Springsteen. That rock is of the Replacements ringing-guitar punkish variety, however, rather than that powered by piano and saxophone.

Thematically, “American Slang” is about growing up, dealing with wives and ex-wives, good times gone and other disappointments of creeping maturity: “Everybody used to call you lucky when you were young,” sings Brian Fallon on “Stay Lucky,” one of the album’s anthems along with  the irresistible title cut, the punkish “Orphans” and the driving “The Spirit of Jazz” (“The cool is dead” is the opening line).

“American Slang” isn’t just blast after blast, though. The soul swing of “The Diamond Church Street Choir” and “Boxer” are reminiscent of Marah, while “The Queen of Lower Chelsea” is a quiet little number that provides more poignant observation from Fallon. “American Slang” is an American smart rock-and-roll record, bashing and popping while telling stories of real people in real places. It’s one of the best of 2010 so far.
— L. Kent Wolgamott
Buy if you like: The Replacements, Bruce Springsteen

Alejandro Escovedo: ‘Street Songs of Love’ (Fantasy)
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Co-written with Chuck Prophet, Escovedo’s “Street Songs” is all about love, but it’s hardly a collection of love songs. Filled with the urgency and danger that infused early rock music, it’s as much about believing in rock as it is believing (or not) in love.

“I’m in love with love/and it broke me in two,” Escovedo sings on “Anchor.” On “Silver Cloud,” desire and anger fight it out in snarling guitar riffs. The confrontational “This Bed is Getting Crowded” crescendos with his defiant, agonizing shout, “This ain’t LOVE!” But his second Tony Visconti-produced effort also contains shimmering ballads, like “After the Meteor Showers” and the instrumental “Fort Worth Blue,” for Escovedo’s late friend Stephen Bruton. The soulful “Down in the Bowery,” written for his son, features vocals by Ian Hunter, and Bruce Springsteen duets on a blistering “Faith.” In the end, “you gotta have faith.” If love can’t save you, rock ‘n’ roll will.
— Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie

Ratatat, ‘LP4’ (XL)
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The last time Ratatat went into the studio, the New York electronic music duo cut enough tracks to make two albums. So “LP4” is a literal extension of “LP3,” the New York electronic music duo’s previous album.

The second batch of songs, however, gets a lusher treatment than the first half. Symphonic sounds are incorporated into the synth-driven, beat-happy, guitar-laced Ratatat formula, giving songs a grandiosity and dynamism. That’s key because, with the exception of a few spoken-word sketches (some in German), “LP4” is an all-instrumental disc. But those songs aren’t meandering, self-indulgent sonic explorations. Instead, they’re sharply focused pop numbers that should be in the dance clubs and on the party soundtrack for the summer. — L. Kent Wolgamott
Buy if you like: The Chemical Brothers, DJ Spooky

Steel Train: ‘Steel Train’ (Terrible Thrills)
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This band’s name has always evoked images of twangy, hard-edged roots rock – probably with a pretty serious disposition. But Steel Train’s music couldn’t be much different. As this New Jersey group’s third album, “Steel Train” (to go with three EPs) proves, this band has more to do with power pop than turbo twang.  And the group casts a fairly wide net when it comes to the pop genre.
Songs like “Touch Me Bad,” with its hopped-up-on-sugar sound, the straight-forward “Bloody Lips” and the herky jerky fun of “You Are Dangerous” fit nicely within the power pop realm. “Children of the ‘90s (I’m Not the Same)” injects a little punk fervor into the pop equation. Meanwhile, on “S.O.G. Burning In Hell,” and “You and I Undercover” bring a more spacious, anthemic dimension to the pop sound. Far from being introspective or earnest, Steel Train keeps the spirit bouncy throughout this entertaining disc. – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like:  Elvis Costello, My Morning Jacket

Kevin Welch: ‘A Patch of Blue Sky’ (Road)
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“A Patch of Blue Sky,” Kevin Welch’s first solo album in eight years, is as much about atmosphere as content. The timbre of his voice is so captivating, we could listen to him humming and still be transported. When he wraps it around his poetic lyrics and melds it with top-notch musical accompaniment, that’s icing on the cake.

But Welch does have something to say here; mostly, he’s venting, via achingly beautiful melodies like “New Widow’s Dream,” “Long Gone Dream” and “That’s How it Feels,” the pain of loss. (“These days are filled with beauty/beauty and sadness,” he sings on that last one.) Accompanied by his son, Dustin, on banjo, resonator guitar and vocals; his daughter, Savannah, on vocals (with and without her Trishas bandmates); his Kane Welch Kaplin bandmate Fats Kaplin; and other fine supporting players, Welch achieves an album full of beauty and sadness—and on the gorgeous, full-out gospel closer, daylight shining through. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Kane Welch Kaplin, Lyle Lovett

Reissue: The Cure: ‘Disintigration’ (Fiction/Elektra/Rhino)
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Bonus material: ???
This 1989 album is widely viewed as the Cure’s finest studio release, and with such definitive tracks as “Fascination Street” and “Lullabye,” to name a few, it’s hard to argue the point.

This deluxe reissue certainly goes to great lengths to chronicle the entire 1988/89 period of the band. In addition to the original album, it includes a second disc of home demos, band demos, band rehearsals and rough studio takes of the songs from “Disintegration.” A third disc expands the “Entreat” live CD that was released in 1989.

It appears that the compilers of this set scraped the very bottom of the Cure’s vault to put together the outtake disc. Most of the cuts are instrumental demos and rehearsals that offer little of interest. Because they lack Robert Smith’s vocals, even unreleased band recordings of “Noheart” and “Esten” (the latter of which sounds like it had potential) feel like throwaways. The same can’t be said of “Entreat,” The CD features the Cure playing all 12 “Disintegration” songs live in order. The sound is full and precise and while the versions live versions don’t deviate much from the studio recordings, the “Entreat” disc offers a nice counterpoint to the original disc. — Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: New Order, Erasure