STARSAILOR
On The Outside
(Toshiba-EMI)

The problem with being anointed Britpop’s next big thing is that the next next big thing is only one step behind. So when Starsailor’s sophomore effort, Silence Is Easy, proved a dud, they soon found themselves “on the outside.” That perspective, it turns out, may have done frontman James Walsh and Co. some good. After the introspection of Silence..., On The Outside is a brasher, punchier effort in the classic rock tradition. Hinting perhaps at a new commitment to music, Walsh sing-screams the words “I’m reborn” on “In My Blood,” one of the album’s heavier tracks. Starsailor’s guitar and emotion-saturated sound can come across as overly self-conscious, but as suggested by the cover image of a bird flying above a fence, the new perspective may have been liberating. DG

DEVENDRA BANHART
Cripple Crow
(XL/Hostess)

Like so many current rock albums, Devendra Banhart’s fourth outing causes a double take. With its dark-side version of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper for a cover and sonic palette evoking psychedelic San Francisco circa 1967, Cripple Crow seems not of this era. But when the fragile-voiced folk vocalist begins to sing on the title track about a new generation of youth headed off to war, the reference is not to Vietnam but Iraq. Recorded with a band known as the Hairy Fairies, the album adds backing choruses and the occasional flute and piano to Banhart’s deceptively childlike voice and acoustic guitar. On an 18-track effort, Banhart also tosses off a number of songs in his native Spanish, adding variety to one of the year’s more quixotic disks. Final verdict: an acquired taste. DG

GREEN DAY
Bullet In A Bible
(Reprise)

Punk has in essence always been political, but no one could have foreseen how much help a hapless president would give to fading neo-punks Green Day. While Springsteen’s The Rising encapsulated American feeling post-9/11, Green Day’s ambitious concept album American Idiot perfectly captured the mixture of confusion, patriotism and resentment that befell the US in 2005, endearing audiences worldwide to the charm and sly wit of the Californian trio. This CD/DVD is a smartly edited and gloriously filmed account of the band’s ascendancy to stadium shows, recorded in England’s Milton Keynes Bowl and neatly interspersed with insightful interviews. The rousing performance also reveals how much Green Day has matured, masturbation lyrics circa Dookie replaced by the likes of emotive “Are We The Waiting.” Fully deserves the tag “Greatest Rock Band in the World.” Robert Poole

EMILIANA TORRINI
Fisherman’s Woman
(Rough Trade/Hostess)

When the sound of creaking boats opens “Lifesaver,” the gentle evocation of a tranquil riverside at dusk seeps into the room, seemingly slowing down time to a perpetual linger that lasts well after this album lilts to a close. Icelandic-Italian Torrini has on her second album created a piece of such sheer beauty that even Nick Drake would coo at its delicate simplicity—her fragile voice is embellished with little more than the light strums of an acoustic guitar so atmospheric as to conjure a serene but somehow intimate place you’ve never been. Opener “Nothing Brings Me Down” looks to be the calling card on an album perfect for late-night relaxation, one that can whisk you away from life’s stresses. RP

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