SOUNDCHECK

Switchfoot


Oh! Gravity. (2 1/2 stars)

It's as unfair to pigeonhole Switchfoot as a Christian band as it is to pigeonhole them as unimaginative adult-contemporary balladeers. The band's sixth album finds them sounding loose and energetic on tracks like "Dirty Second Hands" and "Amateur Lovers" that pack more rock punch than past radio singles "We Are One Tonight" and "Meant to Live," for which they're best known. There's a lively, jangly sound reminiscent of Ben Folds or Counting Crows on much of the album's first half, but by "Head Over Heels (In This Life)," it's back to the bland balladry that's put Switchfoot alongside Train and The Goo Goo Dolls in the pantheon of wuss-rock titans.

As for that pesky Christian label, frontman and chief songwriter Jon Foreman never directly invokes God or Jesus, opting instead for an aspirational tone that merely encourages listeners to look for meaning beyond the material world, a theme that countercultural rock 'n' rollers have been pushing for decades. "I want to live and die for bigger things/I'm tired of fighting for just me," he sings on "American Dream," sounding far more like Bono than Amy Grant. That doesn't make the sentiment—or the music—any more original, but at least it's got ambition.

SLOAN


NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT (3 stars)

I tried listening to this straight through in one sitting. Really. On multiple occasions. But while spinning a single, 67-minute album might not sound tough, the latest disc from Canadian power-pop outfit Sloan started feeling like the 13th labor of Hercules as it entombed me beneath an unrelenting 30-track onslaught with nary a between-song pause to let me sneak a breath.

Why then, I can practically hear you wondering, are you staring at a respectable three-star rating for a project that caused this reviewer so much torment? Because, though it (literally) pains me to admit it, the perfectly titled Never Hear the End of It is loaded—seriously, jam-packed—with wondrous bits and pieces, stretches that could become addictive for those with the fortitude to revisit them with some regularity.

The bizarre trip plays like the evil step-brother of Guided By Voices' Alien Lanes, matching that alterna-pop adventure's rapid-fire pace and stockpile of hook-stuffed ideas, just not its slick song-to-song segues or the enduring quality of its best individual numbers. One of these days I'm sure Sloan will take me from beginning to end, but in the meantime I'm content to absorb it in chunks, each one providing enough to keep me coming back ... after a quick power nap.

Carly Simon

Into White ( 1 1/2 stars)

The '70s icon returns with a tame collection of covers, including her interpretations of such American classics as "Oh! Susanna" and "Over the Rainbow," as well as her take on songs written or recorded by Cat Stevens, The Everly Brothers and Simon & Garfunkel.

Dappled with hints of Celtic flute, dreamy strings and quiet piano interludes, Into White is a godsend for nostalgic insomniacs and adult-contemporary fans who think Celine rocks too hard. A high point in the mix comes when Simon teams with her children, Ben and Sally Taylor, on their father James Taylor's "You Can Close Your Eyes," their voices blending in exquisite, familial harmony. Alas, it's one of the few memorable tracks in this set.

However, if you're a fan of New Age deep thoughts, the liner notes alone are enough reason to pick up a copy of this disc. Amid Simon's song descriptions, she tosses in such gems as, "I've often thought it would be quite reasonable to get second and third opinions from psychics," and "It comes from underneath the soil. It belongs to the American heritage, and I am part of both." But when she's underneath the soil herself, she won't be remembered for Into White.

AMERICA


HERE & NOW (3 1/2 stars)

Original America members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell are releasing their first major-label studio album in 20 years, you say? Huh.

It's a double disk; one CD recorded live at XM Satellite Radio studios and containing renditions of such folk-rock classics as "A Horse with No Name," "Sister Golden Hair," Tin Man" and "Ventura Highway"? Well that's kinda interesting.

The disc of new material was produced by Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha and Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger? It features appearances by Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller, My Morning Jacket's Jim James and Patrick Hallahan and Nada Surf's Ira Elliot and Matthew Caws? Consider a generation of indie kids' ears perked.

While the live half offers no real surprises, what's remarkable about the 12 new tracks (including covers of Nada Surf's "Always Love" and My Morning Jacket's "Golden"), is how timeless they sound: all the unabated restlessness, earnest romanticism and acoustic interplay that were the hallmarks of the '70s then-trio who put the "mony" in harmony. Pop-infused at times ("One Chance"), psychedelic at others ("Ride On"), Here & Now pairs wistful lyrics with sun-kissed whistling and sha-la-la backing vocals, producing an overall vibe somehow both fresh and nostalgic. The result: mellow gold.