POP/ROCK: Nickelback, "Here and Now" (Roadrunner)
Nickelback is susceptible to relentless criticism because the band is blatantly formulaic and simplistic, and the Canadian group makes the target that much bigger with "Here and Now."
However, there are three sides to this Nickelback coin -- one of which is aggressive and loud (think: 2008's "I Burn It to the Ground"). As frontman Chad Kroeger moves into his late 30s, he and his band aren't mellowing out -- a point he makes on the menacing opener "This Means War," where he sometimes rails as he delivers lines like "Say anything you want, but talk will get you nowhere."
Nickelback unloads equal firepower on more hedonistic cuts such as "Bottoms Up" and "Midnight Queen," which both overlap with the band's hard-partying/male-centric side. Those tracks work, though the similarly themed songs "Gotta Get Me Some" and "Everything I Wanna Do" feel like lame filler leftover from heavy metal's glory years.
Meanwhile, Nickelback isn't limited to venting and getting wild: Kroeger & Co. also woo the ladies (naturally), which is where the band is at its weakest. Apparently the vocalist doesn't find it necessary to offer lines any more creative than "Trying not to love you only makes me love you more" ("Trying Not to Love You") and "I'm lost without you, and there's nothing I can do" ("Holding on to Heaven").
Even if "Here and Now" swoons with clichés, Kroeger's gravelly voice is right for the role, and the higher the voltage of the guitar-based instrumentation, the more convincing the sound.
- CHUCK CAMPBELL, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
POP/ROCK: Kate Bush, "50 Words for Snow" (Anti-)
Bush's influence is undeniable: One can hear her in Tori Amos, Bjork, Joanna Newsom, Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons, and Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine. The notoriously reclusive British auteur has been on a creative tear this year, in May releasing "The Director's Cut," which reworked songs from two of her albums, and now "50 Words for Snow."