ON THE RECORD | What's hot in albums, tapes and discs

'FAIR & amp; SQUARE'
John Prine
Oh Boy, sss
"Fair & amp; Square" is John Prine's first album of new material in a decade, but it's hardly a fussed-over meisterwork. Instead, it feels natural and relaxed, tossed-off between front-porch bull sessions. In other words, like a John Prine album, full of barbed wit and wry observation.
The 58-year-old songwriter survived a cancer scare a few years back, and some of "Fair & amp; Square" is shot through with somber philosophizing.
'THE FORGOTTEN ARM'
Aimee Mann
United Musicians, sss
Aimee Mann's most creatively and commercially successful solo work came when she was using the script for the film "Magnolia" as a muse.
So read what you will into Mann's following the uninspired "Lost in Space" with a loose narrative about the relationship between a boxer/Vietnam vet and a strong-willed girl. The upshot is that Mann's melodic pop works best when informed by the demons and nuances of specific characters, and by their stations in life.
'IN CASE WE DIE'
Architecture in Helsinki
Bar/None, sss
Architecture in Helsinki makes music for short attention spans. The songs on the eight-member Australian indie band's second album, "In Case We Die," are roller-coaster rides through constantly shifting tempos, miniature melodic fragments, and everything-and-the-kitchen-sink instrumentation that recall the giddy randomness of Brian Wilson's "Smile."
All of this jumping around can be frustrating at times, but the disc is mostly breezy, refreshing fun.
'WHO IS MIKE JONES?'
Mike Jones
SwishaHouse/Warner Bros., ss
If you paid attention to the Web chatter and MTV's "Direct Effect," you'd think Mike Jones is either the worst MC since Shaquille O'Neal, a godsend to Houston's burgeoning crunk-pop-hop scene, or the most self-promoting rapper since Puffy started Sean Jean. Somehow, Jones is all three.
Luckily, Jones' echolalia, though abusive, is charmingly musical, sliding through the creamy Philly Soul of "Scandulous Hoes," the contagious slipknots of "Still Tippin'," and the saccharine sweetness of "Grandma" with twee pop disposability.
"BOUND AWAY"
Last Train Home
Blue Buffalo, sss 1/2
The spirit of Johnny Cash hovers over much of Last Train Home's new album. It's most overt in front man Eric Brace's "Hendersonville," a beautiful reverie on Cash and June Carter Cash, inspired by a visit to the couple's burial site, and Brace's "Train of Love," which takes the title of an early Cash hit and moves along at a similarly brisk pace.
Last Train Home doesn't sound anything like the Man in Black, but the band does share his individualistic approach. With its richly layered music cushioning songs rooted in country, folk and rock -- most by Brace -- the ensemble doesn't sound quite like anyone else. Once again, this is a Train well worth catching.
"LIVE IN PHILLY: OUT OF TIME"
Skip Heller Trio
Dreambox, sss
"BEAR FLAG"
Skip Heller Trio
Dreambox, sss
Though he relocated years ago to Los Angeles and has explored music from bluegrass to Chicano rock, guitarist Skip Heller left his heart in Philadelphia, especially the jazz scene of his youth.
Heller's tool is the organ trio, a classic Philly congregation, featuring organist Lucas Brown and drummer John F. Kennedy.
You can pretty much smell the neighborhood jazz-joint cigarette smoke and stale beer on this disc of standards.
'LET ME OFF UPTOWN'
Cheryl Bentyne
Telarc, sss
Singer Cheryl Bentyne, a member of the Manhattan Transfer since the late '70s, presents her fourth solo recording, a tribute to the rocking and hard-living vocalist Anita O'Day.
Bentyne is a cozy singer. She creates lots of warm soap bubbles from the O'Day songbook. O'Day, of course, was a heroin addict, and her troubles are hinted at here in "Waiter, Make Mine Blues," which O'Day cowrote.
But the sheen is the point. The session represents undiluted swing retro and is full of gossamer moonbeams, or the big-band equivalent.
'SONGS FROM THE GRAVEL ROAD'
Ian Tyson
Vanguard, sss
The album and song titles, and the horse imagery on the cover, make it clear that Ian Tyson's music remains rooted in his beloved Western and cowboy culture. But the Canadian troubadour and rancher, a star in the '60s as half of the folk duo Ian and Sylvia, doesn't always ride down exactly the same trails he has before.
For "Songs From the Gravel Road," Tyson is backed mostly by jazz players, who bring some different colors to his folk-country (for contrast, check out the live acoustic bonus tracks). He also manages to have a saddle tell a story ("The Ambler Saddle") and not sound completely ridiculous.
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