Eclectic

  TVT Dallas concoction The Polyphonic Spree is part choir, band, symphony and vaudeville show, and “The Fragile Army”‘ the follow-up to its critically acclaimed 2004 album “Together We’re Heavy”‘ proves the gimmick is over.   What used to be charming’ a rotating cast of dozens of bandmates, a choir, a theremin and French horn’ […]

  Petrol Continuing a series already about 15 installments deep, Petrol Records issues five more discs in its globe-spanning “The Greatest Songs Ever” line of compilations. Each album focuses on a specific country, state or region from all reaches of our planet, with the latest batch representing Hawaii, Japan, India, North Africa and South Africa. […]

    Traffic and Weather Virgin In the fourth and latest offering from the Fountains of Wayne, the band doles out more of the amusing storytelling and blimp-sized hooks that have made them America’s reigning deities of power-pop. And yet the approach is starting to wear thin.   It starts out promising enough. “Someone to […]

Rhino/Reprise Some things just go well together: peanut butter and jelly, spring and baseball, Frank Sinatra and Las Vegas. The Chairman of the Board arguably was never more at home than prowling the stages of Sin City nightclubs, dishing out snappy patter and electric readings of signature tunes like “Fly Me to the Moon” and […]

Arista Sarah McLachlan is slowly, steadily turning herself into a reliable brand; you know exactly what you’re getting when you pick up the latest album. Which is to say, said album will be stuffed with the same damn thing you’ve heard countless times before. “Wintersong,” McLachlan’s crack at a holiday-themed disc, cribs a track from […]

Disney The signs were there when Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo began composing for children’s films like “The Rugrats Movie.” It should come as no surprise that something like “Devo 2.0” would eventually arise. Devo 2.0, a group of 10- to 13-year-olds, sings the Devo classics and a couple of new tracks by Mothersbaugh and fellow […]

Fania Brassy, sensual and incomparable, Cuban-born vocalist Celia Cruz boasts a set of pipes unequaled by any woman before or since’ sorry, Shakira. Her lively staccato delivery, reliably set against irresistibly hip-shaking grooves, can’t help but make you pine for tropical paradises.   “Only They Could Have Made This Album,” a smooth, effortlessly slick recording, […]