Kelly Joe Phelps, Tunesmith Retrofit (Rounder). Those who dig fast-paced, up-tempo music should steer clear of Kelly Joe Phelps's Tunesmith Retrofit. The seventh album from the Portland singer-songwriter is more ambience than flash. Tunesmith finds Phelps producing lyrical poetry set to acoustic folk melodies that are substantive, if not always extraordinary. -- Tracy M. Rogers
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Oh No, Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms (Stones Throw). When your big brother is producer extraordinaire Madlib, it's tough to emerge as a hot producer in your own right. But Oh No's skills shine as bright as his sibling's on Exodus, which features everyone from Wordsworth and Posdnous to Buckshot and Wise Intelligent. -- Quibian Salazar-Moreno
Now It's Overhead, Dark Light Daybreak (Saddle Creek). Saddle Creek darlings Now It's Overhead successfully capture the enigmatic brooding and mystical Southern Gothic longing of R.E.M.'s best albums. On Dark Light Daybreak, vocalist-songwriter-wunderkind Andy LeMaster croons with a faint wrinkled twang that's very Stipean, while the accompanying music -- including spiraling lullabies, stormy rock and synth-speckled lurches -- comprises the band's best compositions yet. -- Annie Zaleski
Sonny Stitt, Stitt's Bits: The Bebop Recordings, 1949-1952 (Prestige). Jazz historians tend to place saxophonist Sonny Stitt on the second rung of bop pioneers, and that's probably fair. Still, this three-disc boxed set of his early work, featuring contributions by Art Blakey, J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell and other jazz titans, demonstrates how pleasurable failing to top the ladder can be. -- Roberts
Teenage Harlets,Up the Fix (Springman Records). When the Harlets aren't on the road inspiring fans across the country with their spirited performances, they manage to find the time to record. Combining elements of surf, garage and punk rock, this record virtually resurrects stale and boring musical genres with injections of sheer exuberance and excitement. -- Murphy
Teddybears, Soft Machine (Big Beat/ Atlantic). Club music made by ex-metalheads should be way more interesting than this. The most successful tracks on the debut outing from these Swedes are saved by dancehall MCs (Mad Cobra, Elephant Man), but cameos from Ebbot Lundberg (Soundtrack of Our Lives), Iggy Pop and Neneh Cherry fall flat. -- Eyl
Various Artists, Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of Metallica (Baby Rock Records). This snoozy collection isn't as bad as anticipated -- it's much worse. "Fade to Black" suggests a hand-cranked jack-in-the-box as heard from the bottom of a well, but that's no surprise. So do the other cuts, along with those on companion volumes spotlighting (say it ain't so) Radiohead and Coldplay. If the infant suicide rate skyrockets, you'll know why. -- Roberts
