Timing is key, and Ani DiFranco knows it. In the singer-songwriter’s second double-disc album in a year and a half and second all-live release, she makes her politics known just in time for the anniversary of Sept. 11.

Buried deep in the second disc, “Girls Singing Night,” is the lyrical crown jewel of the album. In “Self-Evident,” DiFranco unleashes her poetic prowess in a raw protest song about the attacks of one year ago. She reserves her fiercest criticism for the foreign policy of the current administration, calling President George W. Bush a “blue-blood royal son who stole the oval office and that phony election.” And drives the point home by calling Sept. 11 “The day that America fell to its knees after strutting around for a century without saying thank you or please.”

The first disc, subtitled “Stray Cats,” lives up to its name, with a return of her biting acoustic guitar of some classics in DiFranco’s new jazz feel. Her recently added horn section breathes new life into “To the Teeth” and “32 Flavors.”

The album slows perhaps too much at times, such as in the dark jazz ballad “Grey.”

“Jukebox,” the last track, has an infectious swing that blends Ani’s well-known acoustic style with more mature forays into the worlds of funk and jazz improvisation. “So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter” is notable in DiFranco’s musical journey and a snapshot of her live performance authority.

– Omar Tesdell, Daily Staff Writer

Demonstrating an evolution of a great underground sensation, Joy Division and New Order’s “Before & After: The BBC Sessions” should be flawless, but ends up leaving much to be desired.

The first disc starts out with the original incarnation, Joy Division. Dark, brooding themes run through much of the band’s music, along with the un-punk use of electronics, as demonstrated in “Exercise One.” Some of the group’s earlier works, such as “Sound of Music” and “Transmission,” appear on the disc, along with a dual appearance of “She’s Lost Control.”

Problems with the disc begin with the New Order portion of it. After singer Ian Curtis died, the band moved on as New Order.

Joy Division guitarist Bernard Summers filled the void created by Curtis, and usually did a fine job. However, in this recording, Summers comes off as a bad Robert Smith impersonator, and rather drunk.

The disc begins with “Touched by the Hand of God,” in which Summers begins his run at sounding like Robert Smith. From there, the selection moves on to earlier unreleased stuff, like “Temptation.”

Overall, the double disc set is meant to be a comparison between two bands, but with the latter representation of New Order, the parallels cannot be made. A sad conclusion considering all the bounds the group made as the later incarnation.

– Josh Nelson, Daily Staff Writer

For fans of indie or border-line mainstream alternative music, this summer has been full of marquee releases from big-name bands like Superdrag, Spoon and the Flaming Lips.

Shockingly, most of them lived up to expectations. Coldplay’s end-of-summer release “A Rush of Blood to the Head” is no exception.

On the album-opener, “Politik,” the band rocks hard while singer Chris Martin gets a little demanding.

“Give me strength, reserve, control. Give me heart and give me soul. Tell me you’re the politik and open your eyes,” he intones in that lazy-yet-cherubic drawl we got to know so well in songs like “Trouble” and “Beautiful World.”

That’s right, back just the same as before. And it’s no more evident than on the second track and single “In My Place.” While not a rehash of “Yellow,” the song has proven to be just as undeniably bittersweet.

Martin’s lyrical themes and vocal patterns are easy to catch on to, but that only makes his message come across more clearly. On “The Scientist,” an ode to the ups and downs of relationships, he says “Questions of science, science and progress do not speak as loud as my heart.”

In the album’s title track, Martin lets his own passions and “politiks” shine through when he says “So I’m gonna buy a gun and start a war, if you can tell me something worth fighting for.”

As a whole, “A Rush of Blood to the Head” is an impressive step forward for Coldplay when most critics would pick them for a sophomore slump. While, they’re in no way “the new Radiohead,” this album should solidify their position as one of the top British exports to release an album this year.

If “Parachutes” was the best Alternative album of last year, Coldplay had better make sure to get their tuxedos ready. “A Rush of Blood to the Head” is definitely an improvement on the weaker points of that album without sacrificing what made it so good to begin with.

– Jesse Stensby, Daily Staff Writer