An assessment of the new soft-rock invasion from Britain on CD:
Richard Ashcroft, “Alone With Everybody” (Virgin): The former Verve frontman reinvents himself as a wispy folk-rock troubadour who has more in common with the late jazz-soul crooner Tim Buckley than with his former Brit-pop competitors in Oasis.
Badly Drawn Boy, “The Hour of Bewilderbeast” (XL): When Damon Gough can be bothered to finish a song, the results are pleasing, but there are too many tossed-off fragments on this sprawling song cycle for me to concur with Brit tastemakers who awarded it last year’s prestigious Mercury Prize for best album.
Belle and Sebastian, “Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant” (Matador): Stuart Murdoch’s lilting orchestral-pop melodies and bittersweet lyrics are again first-rate on this Scottish band’s fourth album, but when his sidekicks take the lead, the results are less consistently ravishing.
Coldplay, “Parachutes” (Nettwerk): Singer Chris Martin and his bandmates understand the distinction between being melancholy and miserable, and the instantly charming single “Yellow” brings subtle beauty back to the top of the pop charts.
Delgados, “The Great Eastern” (Beggars Banquet): Flaming Lips collaborator David Fridmann puts a trippy spin on the Delgados’ slow-burn, dead-of-night meditations, with echoes of Mazzy Star and the quieter side of the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Doves, “Lost Souls” (Astralwerks): Pop epiphanies float out of the haze, a heady mix of electronic textures, acoustic guitars and buried voices; the trio occasionally wanders off course, but the journey is ultimately worth it.
Mojave 3, “Excuses for Travellers” (4AD): Though countryish elements like pedal steel, banjo and harmonica waft through the arrangements, this Scottish quintet continues to forge a haunting sound distinct from most alternative-country practitioners. “Excuses” isn’t the band’s best work, however, in part because secret-weapon bassist Rachel Goswell is called upon to sing only one song.
Travis, “The Man Who” (Epic): This quartet’s international success paved the way for Coldplay; the songs are concise, pretty and a tad dour, coming fully alive only in concert.
