Ryan Montbleau Band
Heavy on the Vine
(BMI)

Eastern Mass. native Ryan Montbleau started out as an acoustic soloist, but since forming his six-member band, he has branched out to other genres. On Heavy on the Vine Montbleau and crew switch between string-laden love songs, reggae beats and organ-based rock tunes, but the combination doesn’t quite blend into a cohesive album.

The band is at its best when Montbleau’s vocals turn twangy and the band errs on the side of country. It shines on Americana tracks like the understated love song “Carry” and the bouncy but earnest “Stay.” But the genre-jumping gets tiring; one minute you feel like you’re in a Nashville bar, the next you could be at a 1970s wedding reception. “Songbird,” the lone reggae track, seems out of place, and the mostly organ-rock tracks all start to sound the same at second listen.  —Nina Schwartzman

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Various Artists
Gift Wrapped Vol. II: Snowed In
(Warner Bros.)

Christmas compilations are typically thrown together using thematic (but otherwise arbitrarily chosen) tracks from a selection of bands that a label is pushing at the time. The quality of what you’re likely to get varies wildly—which is okay; after all, Christmas is kind of like that, anyway: you need to open a few underwhelming three-packs of tighty-whities to fully appreciate the awesomeness of unwrapping the Multi-Assault X-Men Danger Room Action Figure Training Facility.

We won’t dwell on the cookie-cutter pop drivel (yes, you, CAVO) or this year’s “sound-alikes” (didn’t you hate it when you got toys like “G.I. Jack” or “Raggedy Angie?”). If this CD does land in your stocking, check out decent tracks by Oasis, Regina Spektor, DEVO, Foxy Shazam, Rachel Yamagata, Everest, and The Flaming Lips’ live “Little Drummer Boy.” —Tom Sturm

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Steve Reich
Double Sextet/2×5
(Nonesuch)

The draw of Steve Reich’s new album is “Double Sextet,” his first composition to win the Pulitzer Prize. While not as monumental as milestones like “Music for 18 Musicians” or “Drumming,” it’s an exceptional piece that shows Reich in top form.

Expertly performed by the eighth blackbird ensemble, “Double Sextet” is filled with shimmering textures, chiming pulses and ever-changing counterpoint. It’s broken into alternating fast and slow sections, blending hypnotic rhythms with pleasantly unexpected tonal shifts. “2×5,” written for rock instrumentation and performed by Bang on a Can, doesn’t fare as well. There are interesting moments, but the piece feels fussy and the recording sounds chintzy, failing to tap into the headlong momentum or raw energy of rock. Perhaps its shortcomings are magnified by proximity to the masterpiece that makes this uneven album an essential addition to Reich’s catalogue. —Jeff Jackson