“Overdub” David Garza Compare to: Jeff Buckley, Richard Ashcroft, Rufus Wainwright *** 1/2

With his latest major-label release, David (pronounced Dah-VEED) Garza has proven himself a musician’s musician.

Garza shows that he is able to jump back and forth between musical styles like a teenage girl bouncing from clique to clique. But throughout “Overdub,” whether it be a ballad or a rocker, Garza consistently draws from a variety of influences he has become well versed with.

Appropriately rooted in soul, Garza pulls threads from the well-woven shawls of pop, R & B, Latin and American roots music creating an almost experimental sound refreshingly all his own.

The album opens with the reflective “Drone” as Garza seeks for a justification of his now jaded outlook on society. “Used to get holy/ used to start fires/ used to harmonize with stereo/ now it’s just drone.”

“Say Baby,” Garza’s jab at the music industry, moves passively into the disc’s gem track, “God’s Hands.” Garza recites each verse with a sincere, dub/spoken-word rhythmic pattern while allowing himself to release during each chorus in a rich, tenor vibrato.

Garza addresses his search for spiritual salvation a bit tongue-in-cheek, chanting lines like “Praise the lord, shake your ass/ Kingdome come, comin’ fast.” Ah, if only church on Sunday mornings were this enlightening.

Upon “Overdub’s” finish, one realizes Garza’s heart is ultimately seeped in rock `n’ roll. He’s just reinforcing the belief that rock is nothing but a quagmire of many influences and is forever evolving. Conceited? No. Confident? Yes. But isn’t every preacher standing at the altar in front of a congregation?

– Boonie Boone

“Stay What You Are” Saves The Day Compare to: The Stryder, The Promise Ring, Junction 18 ****

Producer Robert Schnapf has worked with the likes of Moby, Elliot Smith, Beck and the Foo Fighters. That is quite an impressive resume.

The fact that an independent band such as Saves The Day managed to snag such a prominent producer for their new release, “Stay What You Are,” is remarkable.

The result is a CD with 11 well-written, well-produced pop songs that ring in your head for hours on end.

Saves The Day’s Vagrant Records debut, “Stay What You Are,” shows a more mature, more pop sound than in their 1999 release, “Through Being Cool.” They do, however, manage to pack in the same amount of raw emotion apparent in their older work.

Chris Conley’s poetic lyrics are as intellectually written as on previous releases. However, the addition of death-metal-like lyrics somehow makes up for the lack of edginess that was so apparent on “Through Being Cool.” These darker lyrics combine with a very pop-punk sound that could very well make up for the lack of edge.

“Stay What You Are” also includes the more emotional, personal songs fans have come to expect from Saves The Day. “See You” boasts lyrics that just about everyone can relate to. “You want to know/who I really am? Yeah so do I.” Most everybody struggles with personal identity at sometime during his or her life, and this song relates to that emotion very well.

Perhaps one of the best tracks is the first one, “At Your Funeral.” The song gets off to a slow start, but grows into a great, catchy song that is a perfect beginning to a very strong CD. Other great tracks include “Firefly” and “Freakish.”

There seems to be two kinds of Saves The Day fans: The ones who like “Can’t Slow Down,” and aren’t big fans of their newer stuff, and the ones who like “Through Being Cool,” and aren’t big fans of their older stuff.

This CD is definitely one for the latter. Each of Saves The Day’s CDs have become progressively more pop. Older fans may feel betrayed by the band’s newest CD, but they will probably gain ten fans for every one lost. Nice move, Saves The Day.

– Erin Randolph

“Ancient Melodies of the Future” Built to Spill Compare to: Porno for Pyros, Pavement, Pookey Bleum ****

Indie icons Doug Martsch, Scott Plouf and Brett Nelson had a tall order trying to follow up their critically acclaimed 1999 release, “Keep It Like a Secret.” With almost a decade of experience and seven albums under their belt, Built to Spill took it all in stride and outdid themselves once again.

This is the fourth major label for the band, and the third since it solidified into a permanent lineup. Until “Keep It Like a Secret,” Built to Spill had consisted solely of guitarist and vocalist Doug Martsch, with a different backup band for every album. The band has become stronger as a set trio and is able to spend much more time and money on recording than was ever possible in their indie-label days.

The first track, “Strange,” kicks things off with a fuzz-toned tangle of guitars and liquid vocals that should be familiar territory to fans. The band moves through more swirling stratocaster symphonies to the trance-inducing “In Your Mind,” with its repetitious hooks and melodies.

Other high points include the slide blues of oddly named “Happiness,” and the slow, classic rock tinged “Don’t Try.”

Built to Spill saves the best for last, however, with “The Weather.” For the first time in the album, all instruments are pulled, leaving Martsch and his acoustic to start out the beautiful folk ballad. Not too far in, though, the swirling electric guitars and keyboards, overdubs and backwards steel guitars fall back into place to pull the song through a variety of tints and tones, ending with a lonely, eerie backwards guitar line.

The boys from Boise continue to break new ground while paying homage to the roots, and the result is a masterfully recorded album that will fit into anyone’s collection well.

This release is not as instantly accessible as some of their previous work, but it expands with each listening and could easily turn out to be one of the best albums of the year.

– Jeff Mitchell