'Sticks and Stones' surely sounds better live

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"STICKS AND STONES," moe. (Fatboy)The better-known jam bands are always more esteemed for their shows than for their releases, but for some reason they keep churning out recordings anyway. And not just live ones, either: Sometimes they actually go into studios.Releases such as moe.'s new "Sticks and Stones" may serve the purpose of boosting a jam band's playlist with extra material, yet they rarely have any oomph on their own.Frankly, moe. doesn't bring any oomph to the table, though the band at least flips around its usual process by recording brand-new songs rather than cuts the band has been playing live for years. Still, "Sticks and Stones" feels more like the group is rotely fulfilling an obligation that no one is asking them to fill. The enervating pace of "Sticks and Stones" is beyond casual, and other than bits of fitful guitar showmanship and sporadically alluring use of strings, the release plods by in simplistic oblivion.The nasal drone of joint lead vocalists Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier (who are also moe. guitarists) on opening track "Cathedral" foreshadows the irritation to come, and "Sticks and Stones" follows through with songs that hinge on weak vocals, anemic pacing, too-infrequent instrumental enterprise and banal lyrics that are philosophical flatlines. Most tracks just collapse into an indistinct heap and flail about until they fade. And unlike past releases that feature studio versions of songs that moe. had been playing in concert for years, most tracks on "Sticks and Stones" will be unfamiliar to fans.The group does muster something of a hook on the choppy "All Roads Lead to Home" and manages to evocatively pair acoustic guitar and strings on "September." Plus the stomp and clap of bar-song closer "Raise a Glass" is as complicated as a sing-along for drunkards needs to be.But while "Sticks and Stones" might be all you can handle if you're inebriated or stoned of otherwise impaired/distracted, if you're not wasted, it's a waste of time.Rating (five possible): 2"LINE IN THE SAND," ZOX (SideOneDummy)ZOX freshens up the retro-New Wave sound on its new "Line in the Sand," but somewhere along the way, the band from Providence, R.I., neglects to provide its listeners with enough cues to appreciate its efforts.The title track opener is the first sign that something's amiss. Lead singer (and guitarist) Eli Miller asks, "May I have your attention, please?" against a satisfying, fidgety foundation, then boldly proclaims that he's standing up for himself. But there's no context, no examples -- and thus, no real meaning.Subsequent cut "When the Rain Comes Down Again" puts forth a cinematic air with a layered atmosphere of sprawling synths and plucky strings. Yet there's no hook, no point at which the audience is invited to join in.Hooks routinely elude ZOX, and without them, "Line in the Sand" is a strangely passive listening experience, which is odd because the band seems to know the elements of sound and proves itself capable of putting them out there.Even without a memorable refrain, "Seventh Avenue Prophet" is sprawling and theatrical, and "I Miss You" is sweetly energetic. Plus Miller's musings often take an endearingly upbeat turn, as when he realizes "I feel lucky sometimes/I should feel lucky all the time" on closer "Lucky Sometimes" and even on the downcast "The Wait (Part II)," where he offers, "Maybe love is just a reason to believe in something."Also, the band delivers the one-two of pounding beat and careening rhythm to camouflage its shortcomings on "The Same (Doesn't Feel the Same)," and somehow out of the foggy jumble of "Towards Los Angeles," ZOX lands on a memorable chorus keyed to the mantra "What do I have to lose?"So really, "Line in the Sand" has all the necessary parts to be a great release. It's just that the pieces randomly come and go.Rating: 3"TRAVELING," Steve Poltz (Thirty Tigers)Steve Poltz seems to be less of an underachiever than someone who's just doing the best he can -- the kind of guy who might be happy with a B-minus when others would be disappointed.The singer/songwriter isn't much of a singer: His voice is weak and a bit nasal, though it has its charm. Meanwhile, his songwriting doesn't hinge on the most provocative of ideas or the most clever turns of phrase, yet it makes up in sincerity what it lacks in poetics.He doesn't have any out-of-the-park homers on his new "Traveling," just a collection of above-par tracks that link together in satisfying fashion.He floats out some nice acoustic guitarwork on opening cut "I Think She Likes Me," building a beguilingly meditative musical foundation before he issues the more mundane opening line, "I only think of you on days ending in 'Y'," From there, "Traveling" vacillates from disarming moments to awkward ones, and ultimately the scales tip in Poltz's favor.There's more emotional depth than a cursory listen might indicate. The sunny jangle of "Rains" is clouded by desperation as Poltz sings, "The trees are wet, and the leaves are glistenin'/I couldn't love you any more if I tried/I wonder, 'Are you even listenin'?" And the jaunty-feeling little rocker "Street Fighter's Face," the best track in the bunch, is actually a disquieting tale from the perspective of an injured American Marine returning from service in Iraq.Poltz also flaunts his droll side on the straightforward folk ballad "Brief History of My Life," and by the time he gets to the trite line "I'll never let go of you" on closer "Break on Through," he has effectively put so much genuine heart into his work that he can't be dismissed as inconsequential.Despite the potholes, "Traveling" is worth the trip.Rating: 3(Contact Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at www.knoxnews.com.)