Peter Case is no stranger to the world of electronic-filled folk rock, and he keeps the mix interesting with the 11 songs known as “Beeline.” Case grew as a musician in bands such as The Nerves and new-wave pop group The Plimsouls, but he proves with his latest release that his songwriting style isn’t to be pinned down as ’80s music.

Subtlety is the key to many of the songs on the CD, as touches of keyboard and eastern instruments are added to the singer and his guitar in a mix Case calls “computer, sounds and ancient third world rock and roll.”

Vocals usually drive the music, though, and in this case that’s not bad.

The scratchy vocals of the opening track, “If You Got a Light to Shine,” mix with stripped-down percussion, sounding a little like John Hiatt-style blues.

Songs such as “Lost in the Sky” and “First Light” stretch out into folk ragas, with backward effects and dense strings taking over, while “Ma¤ana Champeen” hits with driving acoustic pop. The mix keeps most of the CD pretty interesting.

The low point of the CD, however, is an unforgivable attempt to add DJ scratching in a remix of “Something’s Coming.” Get in your head Ozzy Osbourne trying to rap a Bone Thugs song.

Sticking to his guns, though, Case is a good song writer, and “Beeline” fits in many collections.

– Jeff Mitchell

OK Go frontman Damian Kulash, Jr., says his favorite album is “Purple Rain.”

Maybe, maybe not.

The bubbly keyboards and Cinnamon Toast Crunch-y guitar riffs of OK Go’s self-titled release suggest Kulash popped early Cars and Cheap Trick albums like pills.

But even during the New Wave bustle of tracks such as “You’re So Damn Hot,” Kulash yanks out a Prince-like sexiness, complete with orgasmic “oohs.”

OK Go zips from clap-happy power pop on “You’re So Damn Hot” (“You’re a bad-hearted boy trap, baby doll”) to melancholy “Surfer Rosa”-era Pixies on the song “Return” (“Antiseptic and tired, I can’t remember your face.”)

The band succeeds when Kulash’s pop sensibility combines sometimes witty, sometimes nonsensical lyrics with strong keyboard melodies, which happens on nearly every song.

With its gloomy self-loathing (“And now did that get out of me/ And what the hell did I mean to say?”) and sparse keyboard lead, “There’s a Fire” could be an outtake from The Cure’s “The Head on the Door.”

“Get Over It” is almost too saccharin with its fist-thrusting, shout-along chorus of “Hey! Get-get-get-get-get over it.” But the song, as well as the rest of the album, is so enjoyable that it’s impossible not to smile and go along with it.

– Christian Dahlager

The 5 o’clock shadow, those eyes like pools of clear blue water, that perfectly-coifed-yet-shaggy mane of hair . No, that penetrating gaze is not coming from the latest boy-band heartthrob. My friends, you are staring into the face of the future of roots music.

Rhett Miller is best known to some as the front man for the rockingest band in alt-country, The Old 97’s. Where bands like Whiskeytown and Wilco concerned themselves with moving your heart, the Old 97’s would mainly rather move your feet.

Even within the framework of the Old 97’s it became incredibly obvious Miller had a penchant for a finely crafted pop song. As with his old (and still current) bandmates, Miller’s themes deal with things every guy goes through, i.e. love, loss and loneliness.

“Our Love” is the most energetic song on the album, although its follow-up “This is What I Do” makes a bid for the crown. The former is a very tuneful ode to an adulterous relationship while the latter discusses life as a musician.

“Come Around” completes the trifecta with a bit of lyrical downtime as Miller asks “Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?”

Despite its gloomy undertones, the track demonstrates a bit of wishful thinking. “No one else can fix me, although sometimes my heart tricks me into thinking someone else will do. But you’re the only one,” Miller sings.

Much like another famous country-rock vanguard, Miller has a bit of a fascination with Sylvia Plath. “Point Shirley” discretely pays tribute to the writer and features backing vocals from Robyn Hitchcock of Soft Boys fame.

While Miller may have obtained the services of a group of crackerjack backing musicians, including guest shots by David Garza and Josh Freese, one can’t help but wonder what the undeniable chemistry and charisma of the Old 97’s might have added to this batch of songs. But “The Instigator” will definitely prove to keep old fans busy until the next group release and maybe even make sure a whole crop of new ones are also eagerly awaiting the day.

– Jesse Stensby