CD Capsule Reviews: Kweller Pops, Los Lobos Jam, Silversun Pickups Pumpkin, And Ashcroft Fizzles

Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller (ATO): Mr. ACL nosebleed's new disc is a strong rebound from 2004's sub-par On My Way. Despite Kweller's jangly, simple writing style, there is evidence of real maturity here, from the crisp Gil Norton production to the consistency of the material. There's nothing quite as catchy as "Wasted And Ready," but the album is a hook-filled, enjoyable indie-pop listen all the way through, and that's pretty rare these days.

Ben Kweller - Penny On The Train Track, Thirteen, Nothing Happening (mp3s)

Los Lobos - The Town And The City (Hollywood): Wow. Los Lobos have been doing this for 30 years, and they continue to find new inspiration. Like their classics The Neighborhood and Kiko, this is a thematic record, this time about the highs and lows of the immigrant experience. The material is unshowy and quietly confident, and there's a sonic texture running between songs that's coherent and tangible. After a few years of straightforward rock records, the Wolves are getting ambitious again, and all the better for us. They'll never get the recognition that Neil Young and Bob Dylan do as great American troubadours, but they should. Buy this.

Los Lobos - The Town and The City (Stream)

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (Dangerbird): It's really hard to get past the fact that this Los Angeles band sounds aggressively like Smashing Pumpkins. The record is played competently, has some single-worthy material, and critics have compared it to My Bloody Valentine, but it just sounds like Billy Corgan circa Siamese Dream to us. Whether this is a good thing is up to the listener, but we can't quite go with it. It is simply too early for us to revive mid-90's alt.rock. Sorry, guys.

Silversun Pickups - Melatonin, Little Lover's So Polite (mp3s)

Richard Ashcroft - Keys To The World (Virgin): Ashcroft has never really rebounded creatively from dissolving The Verve. Like Ian Brown, Ashcroft gets a little too mystical and trite when left to his own devices, which has made for a patchy solo career. As with his other discs, this one has three really nice tracks on it, any of which would be at home on today's VH1 or Mix 94.7-type radio. Aside from that, though, it is pure filler, meaning that Verve fans would do much better spending $2.97 at iTunes on the bits they enjoy than on plunking down $14 for this.

Richard Ashcroft - Keys To The World (Stream)

Image via David Cushing on Flickr.