Music » Singer-Songwriter Alternative Rock Music

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The 22-year-old son of two of rock's most enduring icons releases his debut album with production help from his girlfriend, Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto. Unfortunately, Sean has neither his girlfriend's sense of humor, his mom's experimental boldness, nor his dad's pop genius. The bulk of the album is devoted to soft rock, singer/songwriter material delivered at deliberate tempos in Sean's thin, wispy voice. Periodically--just to prove he's a '90s guy and not just copying the '60s--he throws in a hard rock interlude, a bossa nova rhythm, a jazz instrumental or a hip-hop sample before getting back to the same, dreary balladry. He does have a knack for appealing chord changes and melody lines, but he doesn't have the vocal chops to execute them. --Geoffrey Himes

Rather than an official PJ Harvey album, this is a raw, nerve-shredding side project by Harvey and her chief collaborator. The singer lets it rip in primal scream fashion on the third track ("City of No Sun"), which will immediately deter all but the most dedicated of fans from fully exploring the pair's intriguing art punk visions. "Civil War Correspondent" is one relatively accessible point of entry. --Jeff Bateman

Most of the songs on Hayden's debut album were written and recorded late at night in his bedroom on a 4-track mini-studio. Though he's not the first schmo to embrace lo-fi as a means of low-rent self-expression, Hayden's music is completely the product of where it was created. Hayden, a fairly normal twenty-nothing from Toronto, is pure folk poet--a troubadour of the suburbs, a kitchen-raiding, late-night-cable-TV-watching, oversleeping product of middle class North America. To record him any other way would be like taking bacteria out of its petri dish. Over an acoustic guitar that skronks with the metallic reverberation that comes from strumming too hard, Hayden sings of everyday minutiae with a deep and raspy monotone of perpetual ennui. On the beautifully lumbering "Bad as They Seem," the singer pines for a neighborhood girl and her mother as someone "to share with me my midnight snack," only to conclude, "I got to get out some more." Hayden knows even the most mundane scenes can have tragic undersides. Hence, "Skates" starts off about an old department store job, but ends up about the interminable grief of a customer. And in a story ripped from the news, a child in "When This Is Over" wonders about cleaning his room and brushing his teeth while he and his baby brother are drowned in a car by their mother. The music, which mixes in electric guitars, pianos, and other random noises, is more coarse than most singer-songwriter fare, but often a lot more penetrating as well. --Roni Sarig

Pedro the Lion established themselves in the indie-emo scene with their debut EP, Whole, and its fluid melodies and dynamic changes. But if the band's full-length debut is any indication, band leader David Bazan's heart lies closer to the singer/songwriter ethos. It's Hard to Find a Friend is at once confessional, intimate, and honest, with clean melodies and simple arrangements (bare bones guitar, bass, and drums; few overdubs or accouterments). These songs belie an underground awareness perfectly fused with pop sensibilities. Bazan's understated baritone voice and simple guitar technique deliver heartbreaking ditties that resonate on an emotional level. And his sad love songs take on an Old Testament quality as they play out the story behind them. --Brad Caviness

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Possessing a voice as rough and real as a corn-fed Neil Young, an eye for detail as compact as a poet's, and a knack for forlorn yet catchy melodies that would make Brian Wilson proud, Freedy Johnston has become one of the most respected singer/songwriters in rock. For his fifth album, Johnston turns down the amps and navigates the introspective path that's served him so well in the past. "Changed Your Mind" and "While I Wait for You" operate as modest pop-rock elevated by irresistible choruses, but the bittersweet "Pretend It's Summer" and "Emily" reveal Johnston's folk and literary leanings. Producer T Bone Burnett (with Roger Moutenot) captures Johnston's gentle grace with a roomy sound. Session drummer extraordinaire Jim Keltner applies his relaxed, rock-solid touch while subtle electric guitar accents punctuate the sly hooks. Blue Days will stand as an understated addition to Johnston's canon. --Rob O'Connor