Tyler Hilton

“The Tracks Of” (Maverick)

Compare to: Gavin DeGraw, Ben Jelen, Matt Nathanson

Somewhere wading around the infinite abyss of young singer-songwriters is 20-year-old Tyler Hilton.

Like his fellow crooners, Hilton sings of heartache and love, models the tousled messy hair look and perfects the faraway dreamy glance in all his photos. But does he possess that flicker of eccentricity that isolates him from his peers.

Hilton’s sophomore album, “The Tracks Of,” is a collection of wisely crafted pop tunes perfect for a breezy fall day on the road. The fact that Hilton wrote every song on the album (making the words that much more appealing) is a bonus and something that is becoming harder to come across these days. Dancing around acoustic pop, playful folk and alt-country, Hilton constantly keeps the tempo up.

His raspy vocals change with the mood of each song. In some, there’s a maturity in his voice — one of a worn and torn veteran who’s seen and sung about everything. In others, Hilton takes a more pop-oriented approach.

Throughout the first half of his album, Hilton shines on the upbeat, guitar-driven tracks, but can’t keep the energy alive through the end. The songs that compose the second half of “The Tracks Of” seem to serve more as fillers than the artistic pieces Hilton appears to be capable of.

“Insomnia,” a delicate piano-based ballad, is where Hilton pays homage to the blues musicians he listened to growing up. Gracefully lit by Hilton’s hushed piano and drummer Jeff Mince’s soft brush strokes, the tune belongs among the allure of a late night jazz club.

Hilton has time to sharpen his creativity and musical skills. However, with playfully enduring melodies and a knack for honest songwriting, Hilton has already proven himself as being capable of more than his peers.

— Katie Piepel

R.E.M.

“Around the Sun” (Warner Bros.)

Compare to: Ed Harcourt, Radiohead, Coldplay

It’s easier to leave than to be left behind,” Michael Stipe sings in “Leaving New York,” the opening track of R.E.M.’s latest effort, “Around the Sun.”

“Around the Sun” comes on the heels of two of the band’s most disappointing efforts in their otherwise universally acclaimed career. “Reveal,” released in 2001, and 1998’s “Up” followed the departure of drummer Bill Berry. The remaining three members of R.E.M. pushed ahead, experimenting with electronic driven, atmospheric songs.

Their newest album finds R.E.M. meandering back toward its roots. The electronic blips and whirrs that drove the last two albums have largely been pushed to the side in favor of acoustic guitars and pianos.

“Around the Sun” contains mostly slower tempo, richly layered ballads with nary a rocker to be found. This leads to an obvious comparison to 1992’s “Automatic for the People,” while the lyrics themselves are some of the band’s most political since 1987.

In true R.E.M. fashion, these lyrics are not overt, but there can be no mistaking the intended thrust when Stipe sings, “So am I against you/ Or am I against?/ I don’t think it’s that easy,” on “The Outsiders,” which features a coolly delivered guest rap from Q-Tip.

“I Wanted to be Wrong” and “Final Straw” follow in the vein of “The Outsiders.”

Most of the album, however, deals with more typical R.E.M. themes of love and loss.

The Brian Wilson-ish “Wanderlust” momentarily breaks the building monotony of the first six tracks and is followed shortly by another standout song, the oddly uplifting “The Ascent of Man.”

This album requires the listener’s full attention. There’s no instantly catchy song included, but after a while, a few creep into your head. The closer one listens to this album, the more he or she will be rewarded.

— Greg Wilwerding

Dead to Fall

“Villainy and Virtue” (Victory)

Compare to: Caliban, Scars of Tomorrow, Misery Signals

In the fast-paced realm of metalcore, a band that doesn’t release an album for five years might as well throw in the towel.

With the huge influx of metal/hardcore hybrid bands seemingly coming out of nowhere, the hardcore scene is quickly becoming saturated with bands jumping on the metalcore bandwagon — each trying to get a piece of the pie.

After almost five years without releasing any new material, Chicago’s Dead to Fall has returned with a new album and lineup, but the same approach in an attempt to reclaim the metalcore throne it helped create in the late ’90s.

“Villainy and Virtue” is a cut-and-dry metalcore album, evenly distributing European-flavored metal riffs with huge breakdowns and growling vocals. Much like the band’s 1999 debut, “Everything I Touch Fall to Pieces,” Dead to Fall focuses more on metal than hardcore in its approach. While it would be easy to write off Dead to Fall as just another metalcore band, it’s worth noting that “Villainy and Virtue” is one of the heaviest albums to come out in some time. Even though the album is as predictable as they come, its sheer brutality alone raises it to the top of the metalcore pack.

Singer Jonathan Hunt’s ability to switch almost effortlessly between midrange screams and heavy growls is still the secret weapon in Dead to Fall’s arsenal.

While the lyrics are nothing to get excited about, Hunt seems to have at least made an attempt to write meaningful lyrics, opting for a more positive approach rather than relying on violent and bitter lyrics.

While Dead to Fall may have once been a major player in the metalcore scene, “Villainy and Virtue” simply fails to recapture the gritty intensity of the band’s previous material.

— Dante Sacomani