SARAH MCLACHLAN
(3 stars)
AFTERGLOW
Six years after her last studio album, Sarah McLachlan finally releases a follow-up that sounds like … her last studio album. Afterglow is a decent record and will probably please McLachlan fans, but it doesn't take the ethereal singer-songwriter in any new direction. "Fallen" is upbeat and catchy, but most of the rest of the album is languid and unmemorable. McLachlan is a good enough songwriter to coast, and there's clearly a radio hit or two on here. It's just a shame she couldn't have come up with anything new in the last six years.
Josh Bell
THE STROKES
(3 stars)
ROOM ON FIRE
I know I'm disagreeing with hordes of music critics by only giving this album three stars, but I don't mind. After all the buzz, (we probably won't see another sophomore CD generate this much hype until Dr. Dre and Eminem unleash 50 Cent), I was expecting the second coming of the Beatles. But, Room on Fire is simply a good collection of solid, 3-minute, radio-friendly garage-rock nuggets. None of the tracks are as catchy as "Last Night" from the group's debut, Is This It, although the Cars-esq hook on "12:51" will stick in your mind like gum after a few listens. The most important thing The Strokes have done with Room on Fire is continue to steer pop music in a different direction.
Maria Phelan