Los Lonely Boys, ‘Sacred’ Enjoyable but stagnant: The Garza brothers are so consumed with establishing their “Texican” style (they even name a cut after that savory Latin blues stew) that they’ve neglected to push further. This is merely more of the same – Henry’s Stevie Ray Vaughan-isms, JoJo and Ringo’s harmonized melodies, those tempered Santana-lite grooves. But this follow-up has a flaw worse than its generic lyrics or stilted Willie Nelson cameo: It tells when it should show. It’s Los Lobos without the gritty impressionism. And Henry, that live wonder, remains leashed on record. He’s no SRV yet, and as second albums from Texas trios go, this ain’t no “Couldn’t Stand the Weather.” Grade:B- (Ben Wener/The Register)
“Eighteen Visions” The self-titling of the band’s fourth album doesn’t signify a proper start with Sony so much as progress. As if taking cues from fellow O.C. heavy rockers Avenged Sevenfold and Bullets and Octane, this black-clad bunch has scrubbed out most of the impenetrable sludge and useless screaming, replacing it with snaky, streamlined metal that once again suggests Stone Temple Pilots has had more influence than anyone could have imagined (though credit Def Leppard for the surefire power-ballad smash “Broken Hearted”). Not as deliciously derivative, or even as catchy, as A7X’s “City of Evil.” But a considerable improvement all the same. Grade:B (B.W.)
Golden Smog, “Another Fine Day” Eight years later this supergroup of players from the Jayhawks, Wilco and Soul Asylum returns as radically changed as those sources. Their fourth disc is bolstered by a progressive patina borrowed from Wilco; even if Jeff Tweedy’s minimal contributions (and Kinks remake) are among the sparsest, his sensibility infiltrates everything from Gary Louris’ melancholy (which dominates) to Kraig Jarrett’s Lennonesque turns. It’s a long way from the clever covers and alt-country that spawned this side project, and it might as well have been called a Jayhawks record. But it’s also the most cohesive – and best – work the Smog has offered. Grade:A- (B.W.)
Also: “Transformations,” a live CD (also on DVD) from Particle, recorded at the Fonda and featuring covers of Beck and the Verve and cameos from Joe Satriani, Blackalicious and Robby Krieger (on the Doors’ “L.A. Woman”); “Dear Mr. Sinatra,” a tribute from jazz vocalist John Pizzarelli; retrospectives from Third Eye Blind, Bow Wow Wow, the Bangles, Rick Springfield, Eddie Money and A Flock of Seagulls; debuts from Eric Church and Black Stone Cherry; and new releases from Bruce Cockburn, Alien Ant Farm, Billy Ray Cyrus, the Bronx, Helmet, Ozric Tentacles, Boot Camp Clik and N.O.R.E.
