‘The Search Within’

‘The Search Within’

Sean Jones (Mack Avenue)

Grade: B-

Trumpeter Sean Jones, who’s all of 31, often sounds like a committed hard bopper. Raised in Warren, Ohio, Jones is now a jazz professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and he can play as if in a time bubble, attacking his originals with laserlike precision.

But his work with a sextet and some guests, including Gregoire Maret on harmonica, is also surprisingly cool and clinical. It fills the space but rarely draws a wow.

Pianist Orrin Evans, Philly’s own, offers some needed outside-the-box counterpart to Jones’ technical juggernaut. The prevailing vibe here is smooth and occasionally overproduced. The set is effective, but an emotional response is more elusive.

That’s odd, because a lot of pieces are in place for a good session. Frank Foster, the legendary Count Basie sideman, wrote one tune, “Sean Jones Comes Down,” and it finds the leader spreading verve. Jones also closes the CD with a handsome ballad take on the title track.

— Karl Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Leave This Town’

Daughtry (RCA)

Grade: B

Chris Daughtry, the bar-band rocker from Roanoke Rapids, N.C., sounds like Ed Kowalczyk, lead singer for the band Live. Daughtry brought the noise (well, not that much noise) to “American Idol,” losing in the finals. But with songcraft and crunch, his band’s album Daughtry became the mega-platinum sensation of 2006. Daughtry — guy and group — put big, slogging rock back into the Top Ten. Hooray. Now, follow it up, punk.

“Leave This Town” avoids the sophomore slump. Daughtry is mainstream stuff, hardly a nouvelle rocker whose every bleat tops the Pitchfork charts. Yet hipsters and hockey pucks alike are missing a pulse if this album’s opening salvo of quixotically melodic tunes doesn’t curl their toes.

“You Don’t Belong” and the soaring bridge to “No Surprise” alone are worth the price of admission into Daughtry’s new house. Screechers such as “Supernatural” allow the burly baritone singer range and punch. But it’s the slower tracks that cut the deepest and show Daughtry’s character. The country fiddle of “Tennessee Line,” with Vince Gill; the slow-to-build-then-burst “September”; the ghostly acoustic “Call Your Name” — all solidly soulful.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘superhero’

Candye Kane (Delta Groove)

Grade: A

In one sense, Candye Kane is not nearly the woman she used to be. The blues belter has lost more than 100 pounds since early 2008, when she was found to have pancreatic cancer and underwent lifesaving surgery. As an artist and performer, however, she remains a larger-than-life presence (Kane will be at Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on Wednesday).

Kane’s irrepressible spirit, bolstered by her new lease on life, burns as brightly as ever on Superhero. “I’ve always been a fighter, when bad times come around. ... I’m Wonder Woman,” she announces on the title song. As usual, she’s a sharp and colorful writer who flirts with blues-mama clich s but ultimately displays a whole lot of soul as she ranges from sassy blues-rockers (“You Can’t Stop Me From Loving You”) to risqu R&B (“I Like ’Em Stacked Like That”) and a gentle acoustic ballad (“Don’t Cry for Me, New Jersey”).

“I’m gonna grow real old,” the cancer survivor declares on the a cappella finale. Don’t bet against her.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘by the throat’

Eyedea and Abilities

(Rhymesayers)

Grade: A

The first track on hip-hop duo Eyedea and Abilities’ third album is an uncomfortable yet compelling tune about death.

Titled “Hay Fever,” it’s eerie, sensual, and beautiful, and the aggressive yet poignant vocals of MC Eyedea (Mike Larson) set the tone for the rest of the album. The two already are known for their socially conscious rapping, and “By the Throat” continues to solidify that reputation.

But while the rhymes are solid, it’s Eyedea and Abilities’ incorporation of actual music — more than just a series of background beats, which most hip-hop acts employ — that makes the album so stunning.

Songs are full of ambient sounds, grungy and psychedelic guitars, angsty sung choruses, crashing cymbals, and itchy beats, and the combination is marvelous.

— Katherine Silkaitis, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘I’m Going Away’

The Fiery Furnaces

(Thrill Jockey)

Grade: C-

The Fiery Furnaces’ “I’m Going Away,” for all of its quirky ballads, remains slightly hamstrung by the hipster chic. The experimental approach is fun for a while, but it gets poured on a little thick at times.

What burdens the New York-based brother-and-sister fronted act is their smarty pants deconstruction of rock ’n’ roll. That’s fine, in theory, but quickly turns tiresome when the reconstruction goes awry.

We start out in good shape here. There’s the Delta blues influenced lyrics on “I’m Going Away,” with its fine jangle crusty electric guitar and quick shuffle of percussion.

Where Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger get in trouble is on the slow ballads.

“The End is Near” moves from moody piano to soaring and dated guitar strains in the blink of an eye. The musicianship is there, but it’s an idea that should have been curtailed.

What’s absent here is honesty. The Friedbergers deliver everything with the wink and the caveat that the emotions may not be real. This all may just be an experimental homage to sounds heard elsewhere.

Their songs about strained relationships might have played better with fewer lo-fi smoke and mirrors and a bit more revealing of the true soul.

— Ron Harris, Associated Press