“Time Bomb” Buckcherry Compare to: The Black Crowes, Slash’s Snakepit *** 1/2

Where have all the rock stars gone? Today’s music business needs more acts like Kid Rock who do it all for the sex, drugs and money. Acts like Marilyn Manson and Eminem who piss off parents across the world. We need more acts that want to be rock stars.

Music needs Buckcherry.

We were first introduced to Buckcherry back in 1999 when the band got airplay for its ode to cocaine, “Lit Up.” Two years later, the band is back with “Time Bomb,” and it still loves the cocaine, and anything else that can give them a good time.

This is plainly stated in “Whiskey in the Morning,” a sort of “Lit Up” sequel. “Still love the life/ drinking, snorting, smoking,” singer Joshua Todd sings.

When it comes to this brand of music, Buckcherry does it the old-fashioned way by playing straight-up rock n’ roll music – complete with guitar solos and piano-laced ballads.

When listening to Buckcherry, one can’t help but be reminded of Aerosmith, that is, before Aerosmith figured out it didn’t have to write good songs to sell albums.

But Buckcherry does it with the attitude and swagger of a sleazy ’80s hair metal band, proving it just can’t get raunchy enough for these boys.

“Don’t you know we fuck for money/ I’m a big dick motherfuckin’ porno star,” Todd says in “Porno Star.”

On the album’s title track, Todd follows the path of Snoop Dog as he chants “Life ain’t nothing but bitches and money.”

Buckcherry can do serious songs as well. It’s not all drugs and sex for the quintet. The group manages to pull the old heartstrings with some rock `n’ roll love songs as well.

There are songs of relationships gone wrong such as “Slit My Wrists,” “You,” and songs such as hidden track 13, which is a ballad dedicated to newfound love. “It’s come down to this/ the first time we kiss/ like the ocean we say/ you and I/ and being with you was the moment I opened my eyes,” Todd croons in his scratchy sandpaper voice.

From the terribly painful heartbreak that relationships bring, to the wonderful feeling of complete ecstasy it can also bring, Buckcherry provides the soundtrack to our lives.

Sappy and corny? Hell yes it is, but it’s a whole lot of fun at the same time. And that’s what music is all about.

– Trevor Fisher

“Ghetto Love” Jaheim Compare to: Ginuwine, Tyrese, Brian McKnight, Keith Sweat *** 1/2

Jaheim’s “Ghetto Love,” blends smooth and sexy love songs with some uptempo hip-hop beats to create a sound that most R&B fans will find soothing, moving and refreshingly new all at the same time.

“Could It Be,” the first single released off the LP, has found its way into heavy rotation on both MTV and BET in the United States. In the United Kingdom, however, bootlegged copies of the track have been making way their into the tape and CD players of English fans who are buzzing about the New Jersey-native’s hit song.

On the track that currently sits at number 4 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-hop Singles and Tracks chart, Jaheim half-sings and half-raps about what “it could be” about him that attracts so many members of the opposite sex to him.

“Could it be the clothes that I wear/ Break yo neck when you see a nigga dip/ Or could it be the ice you see/ But you tell me that you really didn’t feel it,” Jaheim sings over a medium-paced, glitzy-sounding background set. He continues to flow, “Could it be the word on the block/ Know they told you that a nigga got it locked/ Tell me why you just can’t stop/ I’m thinkin’ that its all about me/ What could it be?”

The title track “Ghetto Love,” along with “Looking For Love” and “Heaven In My Eyes,” are the best slow jams on the album. Jaheim’s lively voice and catchy melodies adorn these rhythmic and sensuous love-making tracks.

Lil’ Mo, who appeared on Ja-Rule’s last album, teams up with Jaheim on “Finders Keepers.” Also featured on “Ghetto Love” is Next, who sing the background vocals for “Anything.” Listeners are also introduced to artists Castro (“Let It Go”), Miss Jones (“Waitin’ On You”), and Terry Dexter (“Remarkable”) throughout the course of the album.

A slammin’ “Could It Be” remix that samples Craig Mack’s famed “Flava In Ya Ear” tops off this up-and-coming R&B act’s first record.

Jaheim’s sound makes this album a solid addition to any R&B fan’s collection thanks to its fluidity and easy-listening appeal.

– Jordan Gizzarelli

“Our Miracle Point of Contact” The Vidablue Compare to: At The Drive-In, Refused, Don Caballero with vocals ****

After one listen to this record, there is no doubt as to why Iowa City’s The Vidablue is considered by many to be one of the best emo-rocker bands this side of Chicago.

Powerful, personal lyrics above a driving bassline and mathy, complicated rhythms make “Contact” a refreshing break from the current pop-metal scene.

The best song on the album, “1 2 3 Pregnant,” reflects an emotional roller coaster of a relationship after a breakup. “If you left me the heart would fall out of everything/ on my stomach after slipping you notes/ on my back after breaking our windows.”

Singer/guitarist Matt Davis pours out his emotion and anger in lines such as, “Sometimes I get so sick I could just kill both of us/ I’d follow you straight to the fucking grave.”

But it’s not all typical wuss-rock as bassist Zach Westerdahl and drummer Bob Adams meet the challenge of matching such powerful lyrics with appropriate backing. There are times in tracks such as “H-E-Double Hockey Sticks” and “Industry” when it’s just drums and bass, and these are the times when the V.B. is at its rockingest.

Guitarist Joel Anderson contributes to the jams with his own well-timed plinking and strumming, making this the band’s best release yet.

– Randy Webb

“Roll On” The Living End Compare to: Rancid, the Urge, the Dropkick Murphys ***1/2

The Living End, a “punkabilly” or punk-pop trio, emerged from Australia in the mid-1990s during a post-punk era which spawned such groups as the Offspring, Rancid, and The Presidents of the United States of America. By 1998, the band found itself with platinum status as a result of its self-titled second album.

Hold the phone, did someone say punk-pop? There must be a contradiction here somewhere.

However, even if a contradiction does exist, there is no denying The Living End’s latest effort, “Roll On,” has some good tunes to rock out to while preparing to overthrow the authorities in the name of anarchy and rebellion.

One example is the title track, which could very well be Living End’s version of a punk-rock anthem.

The song has an aggressively popish feeling, making it eligible for mass appeal, and contains the lyrics “We’ll roll on with our heads held high/ our conscience in the gutter/ our dreams up in the sky.”

The album has also been getting a fair amount of air time on college radio stations across the country. Still, Living End doesn’t really offer anything new to the genre.

While the first half of the album is filled with fun and invigorating songs, such as “Riot On Broadway” and “Don’t Shut the Gate,” the second half of the album begins to create a feeling of deja vu with the gradual realization that many of the rhythm and vocal patterns of the later songs take on striking similarities to the earlier songs – producing a staleness to the album and music style as a whole.

The most divergent track on “Roll On” is “Blood on Your Hands,” which brings a loose reggae feel.

One interesting fact about Living End is that the bass player, Scott Owen, uses an upright bass instead of a bass guitar.

Dedicated fans of radio-friendly punk music should find “Roll On” to be an ear-pleasing contribution to the fading “punkabilly” movement, but others may find themselves reaching for the skip button on their CD player as the album rolls on.

– Joel Federer