Twenty years after the original, four-person line-up of The Monkees released its final album, and four years after Davy Jones died, remaining members Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork have regrouped for Good Times! (Rhino). Produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne fame, who also contributed a couple of tracks, the album has the kind of hipster glow to it that helped artists such as Glen Campbell, Mavis Staples, Johnny Cash, Bobby Womack and Loretta Lynn gain renewed credibility among a whole new generation of fans. It also helps that new songs written for the disc by Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Andy Partridge of XTC, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, and a collaboration by Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Paul Weller of The Jam and The Style Council, make up the bulk of the material. There are also new songs by Nesmith, Dolenz and Tork, as well as new recordings of tunes by songwriters who played a role in The Monkees' success, including Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson, and Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Of course, all of these details wouldn't matter in the least if the music weren't any good. Yes, it's good, especially "You Bring the Summer," "Me & Magdalena," "She Makes Me Laugh," "Whatever's Right" and "Birth of an Accidental Hipster."
Rogue Wave returns after three years with the wonderful new album Delusions of Grand Fur (Easy Sound). There's more fun to found on the disc than just the wordplay of the title. Led by Zach Rogue, Rogue Wave makes timeless modern pop that can be traced all the way from the 1960s (hello, Monkees!) to the present day. Songs "California Bride," "In the Morning," "Ocean" and "What Is Left To Solve" are some of the best examples. "Falling" deserves mention for being one of the most beautiful songs of the year.
In the late 1980s and early 90s, Seattle band The Posies proved that power pop and grunge could not only co-exist, they could also crossbreed. Nearly 30 years after its debut and six years since its prior studio album, original band co-founders Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow have reunited under The Posies' banner for Solid State (My Music Empire). Displaying a softer but still rocking side with wonderful harmonies and a catchy set of tunes, Solid State is solid. Even if you weren't a part of the previous Posies pack, there is plenty to recommend on this sweet album including "Squirrel Vs. Snake," "Unlikely Places," "Rollercoast Zen" and "M Dolls," which could reach a whole new audience with the right remix.
After a three-year gap between albums, Goo Goo Dolls are making an effort to remind us that they're still around. The 20th-anniversary expanded reissue of A Boy Named Goo got things rolling, and now co-founding members Johnny Rzeznick and Robby Takac return with Boxes (Warner Brothers). There are some pleasant surprises under the lid of Boxes, such as "Flood," a duet with Echosmith's Sydney Sierota; the light pop of "The Pin" and the title track; and the galloping dance beat of "Reverse."
Six seems to be the magic number for experimental band Autolux. Its debut album and follow-up came out six years apart. Autolux's new disc Pussy's Dead (30th Century-Columbia) has arrived six years later. Falsetto vocals, glitchy, twitchy beats and buzzes, fuzzy funk, ominous guitars and keyboards, and vocal distortion collide in a Radiohead-meets-The Flaming Lips setting for music that is alternately welcoming ("Soft Scene") and challenging ("Junk for Code," "Listen to the Order").
The four years that passed between the time Deftones released its previous album and the arrival of Gore (Reprise) doesn't seem to have dulled the band's aggressive but melodic screamo metal attack. If you like it loud and crunchy, Deftones deliver on "Doomed User," "Pittura Infamante" and the title cut.