Eric Matthews

The Imagination Stage (Empyrean Records)

Evidently, Eric Matthews stored up a lot of tunes during his eight-year span of inactivity. Following his second Sub Pop record, The Lateness of the Hour, in 1997, the world heard nary a peep from Mr. Matthews, and fans of his ultra-suave orchestral pop were left to wonder how such a talent could wind up in the "Where Are They Now?" file. Sure, he lent his trumpeting skills to several records in the interim (Ivy, the Dandy Warhols, etc.), but where was the solo follow-up? Had his songwriting well run dry? The answer to the latter is a resounding "no," as The Imagination Stage is Matthews' third record since his 2005 return.

If you're at all familiar with Matthews, either through his solo records or collaborating with Richard Davies in Cardinal, then you will know exactly what to expect. Warm, gentle, Bacharach-infused smooth rock is again the order of the day. It would be difficult to dismiss Matthews' skills as an arranger, which makes his decision to record Stage all by his lonesome a bit confounding. Many of the tracks are somewhat skeletal, especially throughout the second half of the record. The thin melodies of "Her Life" or "We Were Human" cry out for larger arrangements, and when Matthews does give the bigger treatment to "Well Known Liar" and the title track, he reveals exactly what is missing from Stage's quieter moments. It doesn't take much Imagination to hear how much better this record could have been if Matthews had played a bit more to his strengths for the entirety. - Chris Drabick

Drive-By Truckers

Brighter Than Creation's Dark, (New West)

The Drive-By Truckers began life as a Southern gothic garage band and eventually morphed into Southern rock diarists, documenting the grim comings and goings of the contemporary inhabitants of the new South, accompanied by a swaggering rock/country/folk soundtrack. At the terminus of that continuum, Brighter Than Creation's Dark stands as both the pinnacle of DBT's work to date and an amazing glimpse into its potential for the future.

With the departure of guitarist/songwriter Jason Isbell, the remaining Truckers have all stepped up their game exponentially. Mike Cooley has contributed a record seven tracks to Creation's Dark - all of them among his best DBT work ever - and bassist Shonna Tucker makes her writing/lead vocal debut, providing three excellent songs, not to mention a fresh and fascinating female perspective. As a result, Patterson Hood has likewise amped up his songwriting to keep pace with his suddenly prolific bandmates, populating Creation's Dark with his own personal best, an amazing accomplishment considering the band's impeccable catalog. The icing on the project is the soulful keyboards of iconic Muscle Shoals session man Spooner Oldham, whose gracefully forceful lines perfectly underpin the album's shifting center point between howling rock bluster ("The Righteous Path," "Home Field Advantage") and melancholic introspection ("The Opening Act," "Daddy Needs a Drink"). Across 19 tracks and a nearly double-album length, the Drive-By Truckers clear all of their previous benchmarks on Brighter Than Creation's Dark by channeling both their outer Lynyrd Skynyrd and their inner Jayhawks. - Brian Baker

Cat Power

Jukebox (Matador)

Singer-songwriter Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) has made as much of a career of crafting sultry, bluesy versions of both classic and lesser-known songs penned by other musicians as by recording and releasing her own signature work. Although her last actual covers album (titled The Covers Record) was released nearly eight years ago, Marshall has contributed a massive number of reinterpreted songs to various compilations and soundtracks (her recent take on Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is one of the best tracks on the two-disc soundtrack to I'm Not There), as well as thrown them on her original albums.

This new record is solely a collection of covers with the exception of the new original "Song to Bobby" and the re-released "Metal Heart" (from 1998's Moon Pix), but thanks to Marshall's unique, notable style, the entirety sounds like her. Even the opener, "New York, New York," a veritable show tune, can almost be construed as just another moody song inspired by Marshall's many demons. The Dylan cover here is "I Believe in You," an expected contribution as Marshall is notorious for playing Dylan songs (as well as actually joining him in concert), and it's almost unrecognizable - a poppy interpretation that smoothes Dylan's rough edges and makes the song Marshall's own. Cover albums can become tedious, particularly when an artist bases almost half a career on them, but Marshall always seems to cast new light into the songs she selects, allowing discs like this one to not seem like cover albums at all. - Emily Zemler

MGMT

Oracular Spectacular (Red Ink/Columbia/Sony Records)

From campus party lark to major label deal, the saga of MGMT is an uncommon tale. Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser once specialized in dance-music spectacle during their days at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. The eventual product was Time to Pretend, a six-song EP that improbably made its way to the offices of Columbia Records, and even more improbably resulted in the duo signing a contract. Re-recording "Time to Pretend" from the EP, as well as tearing through a batch of new tunes with über-producer Dave Fridmann, MGMT have gone from one-time inside joke to full-on buzz band.

Certainly MGMT's dance-music background is in evidence throughout Oracular Spectacular. In addition though, they touch on all sorts of other genres and styles, melding psych, Prince-style electrofunk and straightforward jangle pop into a heady and never-dull sound. It's easy to see why they would revisit "Time to Pretend," as it's a Zune commercial waiting to happen, with a catchy keyboard riff and some oddly prescient lyrics. While they don't exactly hit anything quite that high through the rest of Spectacular, there are plenty of other solid tunes. "Electric Feet" is a nifty dance number that could be ironic but somehow isn't; "4th Dimensional Transitional" is a busy intersection of their artier and dance tendencies; and "Of Moons, Birds and Monsters" and "Weekend Wars" are pretty but not precious straightforward pop moments. This is not a perfect record, but it is a perfectly satisfying debut that shows plenty of future promise for these pranksters. - Chris Drabick

Jettie

Kites for Charity (Eyeball)

H1/2

The problem with climactic romantic moments in movies is that they are often artificial. The sky is too blue, the faces too perfect, the temperature just right, and the kiss always lined up just so. There are no hairs out of place, no rattling engines as cars pass by, no coughs breaking up heartfelt speeches, and no wind making the lovers squint. It's these brightly lit Hollywood endings that Jettie seems to be scoring. The duo's highly polished take on pop rock is like an airbrushed smile, pleasing to the senses but ultimately hollow.

Thanks to its clean guitars, softly splashing keys, whispery vocals and soaring choruses, Kites for Charity is a breezy listen reminiscent of bands like Mae and Copeland. Songs like "Start/Stop," "Ticking" and "Sophia" sound like Jimmy Eat World with their edges dulled and padded. They may be pop songs that exude an immediate amount of pleasure - thanks to simple melodies and bright arrangements - but their replay value is nonexistent due to a made-in-the-studio feel and no attempt at breaking a comfortable and boring mold. Instead, what Jettie has created is an album that's just as easily forgotten as it is listened to. - Matt Whelihan

Donovan

The Donovan Concert - Live In LA (Raven/MVD Visual)

This DVD supplies a decent overview of Donovan's key '60s songs as performed at a January 2007 concert. The songs work nicely in stripped-down acoustic-guitar renditions with minimal backing percussion. The show was held as a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, and the presence of emcee Lynch brings some fun pop-culture surrealism to the DVD. A guest appearance of Beach Boy Mike Love joining in on "Mellow Yellow" provides additional pop novelty.

Unfortunately, the DVD suffers noticeably from the sort of stuffy, saccharine institutionalism which plagues PBS reunion concerts - i.e., TV specials of the sort satirized in A Mighty Wind. Furthermore, Donovan's monumentally corny demeanor can be a bit tough to stomach in high doses. However, Donovan is gushingly genuine as an archetypal head-in-the-clouds flower-child idealist. His sincerity and authenticity make the heavy corn syrup a bit easier to swallow.

With a talky hour main feature and four so-so bonus outtake songs from the performance, the DVD comes off a bit short. Considering this is the only Donovan music DVD on the market, it's a bit of a letdown that the vintage TV appearances excerpted in Lynch's introduction aren't viewable in their entirety as bonus features. Although the DVD is less than fully satisfying overall, these songs are proven classics, his voice still sounds great, and it's more of a visual document of live Donovan than his fans have gotten thus far.

- Michael David Toth