Fennesz
Black Sea
(Touch)
The evocative cover of Black Sea offers a reliable representation of the music. It shows a murky strait at low tide as the water evaporates to reveal ghostly traces of a path toward a distant cityscape. The latest from electronic artist Christian Fennesz combines electric guitar and computer to create a series of gray-scale drones and austere tone poems. The album may initially seem monochromatic, threatening to slip into ambient art installation territory, but the bruised and beautifully tactile qualities of the songs slowly reveal themselves. The closer you listen to tracks like the achingly lovely "Saffron Revolution," the blissfully enveloping "Glide," and the buzzing bell tones of "Perfume for Winter," the clearer they come into focus. —Jeff Jackson
New Kids on the Block
The Block
(Interscope)
As a product of a Backstreet Boys generation complete with mushroom haircuts, I found hearing the grown-up New Kids on the Block swoon and croon relatively unnerving. Their voices, swathed with synth and echo, sound convincingly danceable, but the boys fail at being convincingly youthful, especially in songs like "Big Girl Now," and "Grown Man." This album tries to salvage a dying genre that may only be properly suited for middle school dances. I am through with hackneyed ballads of men pining over women on the dance floor or the bedroom, and shouldn't these guys be mature enough by now to try something newer in a comeback album? —Fraylie Nord
The Killers
Day & Age
(Island)
Lead singer Brandon Flowers wasn't kidding when he said this new album is inspired by the band's hometown of Las Vegas. Day & Age dazzles with glitz and glitter and struts like a showgirl—the album cover should be sequined. It may not rock as hard as their earlier albums, but it flaunts new features like disco beats, brass embellishments, and more keys than a janitor. Notable tracks "A Dustland Fairytale" and "Losing Touch" are classic Killers rock with a touch of Sin City sparkle. Skip "Joyride" and "I Can't Stay," in which Flowers embraces his inner lounge singer. The Killers have always dabbled in weird, but Day & Age dives right in. In this case, weird kind of works for them. —Becky Everett
Robin Thicke
Something Else
(Star Trak/Interscope)
The son of Alan Thicke from Growing Pains, the 32-year-old Robin Thicke may have missed making the cut for a new Now album, but it's not too far-fetched to figure you'll hear his latest songs in a hip singles bar. Thicke's third album is comprised of a dozen disco songs capped off with an unbefitting appearance by Lil Wayne. The musicianship is actually quite cool; the sound is not over-produced in the fashion of many pop albums. But Thicke's style is stuck somewhere between Studio 54 and Total Request Live. —Lee Taylor
