ARTIST: Death Cab For Cutie
RECORDING: “Narrow Stairs’’

Making the jump from an indie label to a major one can spell disaster, and many a fan heralded the demise of Death Cab For Cutie after their unfairly criticized Atlantic debut, 2005’s “Plans.’’ Again boasting slick production and a new direction for their sound, Death Cab’s knockout follow-up, “Narrow Stairs,’’ will shatter any expectations about this band.

Typically grounded in warm and bright flavors, Death Cab have widened their scope dramatically, with synth providing dark tones and biting atmosphere. They still cover the same heartfelt territory — love and happiness, rejection and regret — just with a lot more aplomb.

Opener “Bixby Canyon Bridge’’ provides a jolt, with a soft intro and frontman Ben Gibbard’s emotive vocals lulling you in before a hard riff hits you over the head.

Impressive lead single “I Will Possess Your Heart’’ boasts an ambitious intro — maybe too much so — propelled by bass and piano before Gibbard flashes his typical eloquence: “How I wish you could see the potential/The potential of you and me/It’s like a book elegantly bound/But in a language you can’t read just yet.’’

The disc is nicely balanced between driving rock — the poppy “No Sunlight,’’ anthemic “Cath,’’ and joyous retro vibe of “Long Division’’ and “Pity and Fear’’ — and moody mid-tempo ballads — a poetic “Grapevine Fires’’ and the self-deprecating oddity of “You Can Do Better Than Me.’’

— The Associated Press

PERFORMER: Ween (www.ween.com)
RECORDING: “The Friends EP” (Chocodog)

While there’s nothing new here for serious Ween fans, this five-song EP contains material recorded post 2007’s “La Cucaracha.” And, as usual, each song offers up another glimpse into the band’s vast storehouse of musical ideas.

Following an edgy remix of “Friends” (from “La Cucaracha”) comes “I Got to Put the Hammer Down,” a synth-driven rocker (and live staple) that manages to turn a simple riff and drum loop into a tough, clever anthem. “King Billy” offers another change-up, with Ween morphing into more than a convincing reggae band. In the vein of Santana’s overplayed “Smooth,” “Light Me Up” effectively one-ups him, copping the guitarists’ style and trumping his melody — but adding some sly humor. Closing the disc is “Slow Down Boy,” a schmaltzy, pleading ballad that’s straight out of ’80s Brit pop.

As if there was any doubt, this reaffirms that Ween is one of the America’s slyest and most inventive groups. This EP isn’t just for completists.

— By Michael Lipton

PERFORMER: Elbow (www.elbow.co.uk)
RECORDING: “The Seldom Seen Kid” (Fiction/Geffen)

England’s Elbow has had both a charmed and cursed existence, creating beautifully interesting records for what now amounts to something like five major labels. Soldiering on, Guy Garvey and company have cast another set of tunes that combine ambitious arrangements and musicianship with radio-worthy melodies.

“Starlings” begins with a sparse love song that contains exquisite lines like “You are the only thing in any room you’re ever in” and “Yes, I’m asking you to back a horse that’s good for glue — and nothing else.”

Both “The Bones of You” and “Mirrorball” recall the smart, expansive pop of XTC circa “Black Sea” while the combination of Garvey’s raspy, ethereal voice, and the heady mix of percussion and acoustic guitar in “Grounds For Divorce” is hypnotic. And when the songs kicks in full-on with modal droning a la Zeppelin, it becomes almost mind-bending.

The slinky, minor-keyed “An Audience With the Pope” is simply a perfect marriage of music, lyrics and melody. If you can find me a better line than, “I have an audience with the pope and I’m saving the world at 8. But if she says she needs me … everybody’s gonna have to wait,” I’d like to hear it.

“The Fix,” in its own quirky way, is a melding of classic pop, Bertolt Brecht and the show tunes of Anthony Newley. And the fully orchestrated “One Day Like This” is as uplifting (if not fatalistic) as some of the other tunes are dark.

If the booklet is laid out like a program for a play, there’s good reason. The songs paint unusually rich pictures that create images as vivid as a novel.

– By Michael Lipton

PERFORMER: Kira Lynn Cain (www.kiralynncain.com)
RECORDING: “The Ideal Hunter” (Evangeline)

It’s not surprising that the debut from Kira Lynn Cain — a painter and film student — is often called “a soundtrack waiting for a movie.” The Northern California native has a handle on the spooky, ethereal “Twin Peaks” vein. With assists by members of American Music Club and Mother Hips, the instrumentation is dense and moody — vibes, strings, treated guitars — with Cain’s voice like a kinder, gentler Nico floating above the mix.

If “Good” is one of the more traditional song in terms of structure (complete with lush string section), “Not with My Eyes” is the most intriguing, with sitarlike guitars, harmonium and cello creating a downright hypnotizing effect while “Under Somebody’s Hand” has a recurring melody that’s both majestic and mesmerizing. I doubt anyone will be humming her songs (or singing them at an open mic) but the overall presentation — as in the meditative “The Lone,” which has Cain singing nothing but “ahhs” — is both effective and gently powerful.

– By Michael Lipton 

PERFORMER: Heybale (www.heybale.com)
RECORDING: “The Last Country Album” (Shuffle 5)

While calling your CD “The Last Country Album” may sound a bit lofty (or even pretentious), Heybale can get away with it. Take one listen, and you won’t have a quibble.

If you’re a fan of real country music (sorry, that’s a distinction that must be made), Heybale is as close to the real thing as it gets. Unlike groups that simply imitate or re-create, Heybale, which cites its influences as “those who are dead and near dead,” has effectively embodied the music and spirit of honky-tonk barrooms.

Featuring the hard-to-beat Redd Volkaert, perhaps the most fluent and tasteful guitar twanger today (and an alumni of Merle Haggard’s band), and pianist Earl Poole Ball (who has played for Haggard, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Gram Parsons), the musicianship is second to none. And while the band offers inspired covers of Willie Nelson’s “Mr. Record Man” and Tom T. Hall’s “That’s How I Got to Memphis,” the disc’s standouts are the originals. Singer Gary Claxton’s “California Wine” features his smooth, intoxicating vocals and classic fills from Poole and fiddler Eric Hokkanen, as well as some tasty twin leads from Volkaert.

You’ll be searching the liner notes to see which classic singer recorded “Livin’ in a Cheap Motel” (it’s a Poole original). Ditto with the Ray Price-like “House of Secrets” and “Honky Tonk Mood.” With solos all around, the title track, a Hokkanen-penned instrumental, is a Texas swing number that showcases ex-Asleep at the Wheel member Cindy Cashdollar’s steel playing and Volkaert’s country-jazz prowess. For good measure, the disc closes with “Let’s Go to Mexico,” a made-for-dancing Tex-Mex track.

– By Michael Lipton