music

"PHRAZES FOR THE YOUNG," Julian Casablancas (Cult Records/RCA)

When The Strokes emerged earlier this decade some talked as though the New York City garage band would save rock music -- a ridiculous notion since rock wasn't dying and even if it were, one band certainly wouldn't save it.

"SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS," Pink Martini (Heinz)

Pink Martini is talented enough to deliver a fine classical album yet much too twisted to do anything so straightforward.

The 12-piece act from Portland, Ore., hops into a time/travel machine for "Splendor in the Grass," its fourth release since 1997, and drops in on at least four different continents and a half dozen decades.

THE SWELL SEASON

"Strict Joy" (Anti-)

3 1/2 stars

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the couple we fell for swiftly in the movie "Once," became real-life partners and then, sadly, split up since we last heard from them.

"HEARTBREAK ON VINYL," Blake Lewis (Tommy Boy)

Rather than attempt to be everything to everyone, like so many other "American Idol" contenders try to do, Blake Lewis is honing in on a specific sound.

Tom Weschler was a 15-year-old musician and band manager in Detroit when he first ran into Ed "Punch" Andrews, a local entertainment mogul, in 1965. Andrews was managing up-and-coming Detroit rocker Bob Seger, and Weschler, who had saved his money from a car-wash job to buy a Nikon camera, asked if his band could play at a local club Andrews owned.

"SCARS," Basement Jaxx (Ultra/XL)

After a decade of everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink house music, Basement Jaxx has settled into a more reflective mode on the new "Scars."

You can rip the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a lot of things: thin archives, a staid treatment of a wild art form, the fact that it's in Cleveland. But you can't trash the foundation's taste in popular music: Peruse its honor roll, and while you might find a few omissions, you won't find any folks who don't belong.

Early next year, however, that might change.

"SCARY FRAGILE," Butterfly Boucher (Nettwerk)

A half-dozen years after the release of her debut "Flutterby," Butterfly Boucher is still looking for her niche.

"VAGABOND," Spencer Day (Concord Jazz)

Spencer Day is wholly derivative -- think Harry Connick Jr. meets John Mayer -- yet somehow he sounds fresh. Perhaps it's just an illusion, the way his teen-like appearance belies the fact he's in his early 30s. However it's more likely that his appeal is maximized by his discretion.

"I LOOK TO YOU," Whitney Houston (RCA)

At first glance, Whitney Houston appears confident and serene in the photo on the cover of her new album, "I Look to You." But after hearing the release, a second look at the picture reveals something off about her ambivalent, Mona Lisa smile, something uncertain in her eyes.

Something like reluctance.