A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)Man in Gray, I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing, Serious Business [6/19/07]"There's a time when every girl learns to use her head."-- Deborah Iyall (Romeo Void)With a name like Man in Gray, I pictured a male lead singer,but front person duties are actually handled by the decidedlyun-masculine Tina DaCosta. The male members of this Brooklyn quintet provide the occasional backing vocal, but the microphone mostly belongs to DaCosta. I'm reminded of other mixed-gender groups with forceful female vocalists, like the Gossip, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Romeo Void (“A Girl in Trouble”), but Man in Gray aren't dance

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Neither Hot Nor ColdAuto Interiors, Let's Agree toDeceive Our Best Friends, RykodiscNow everybody's breakin' up somebody else's home,before somebody else starts breaking up their own.-- Elvis Costello, "Sneaky Feelings"Based on the title of their second album,I was expecting something with more...edge. Or attitude. Or something.It brings to mind Elvis Costello's anthem of frustration,"Sneaky Feelings." In addition, the off-kilter ferris wheelphotos that decorate the disc raised my expectations(I have a thing about spirals, mandalas, etc.).This Boston quartet's approach to alt-rock/power pop isn't bad, but I don't hear much—or enough, at any rate—that

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Six for the RoadVarious Artists, CrystalTop Music Presents, CrystalTop MusicI'd never heard of CrystalTop Music or any of the artists on this compilation, but the entire package comes as a nice surprise. Most of the acts assay some form of electronica or jazz-oriented pop, which means plenty of stand-up bass and Fender Rhodes. I can imagine their music playing in small bistros and funky boutiques—and I don't mean that as a putdown. (I do, after all, like to eat, shop...and listen to music.)Though the names may be new to me, several have notable collaborations intheir past. Trumpeter Dion Tucker of Oddlogik, for instance, has worked with Mos Def and Rh

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N'exist pasNo Second Troy, Narcotic, self-released [5/8/07]I knew I was in trouble right from the start. The press kit compares this DC combo to Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Aqualung, U2, the Fray, and Death Cabfor Cutie. I have a soft spot for U2, but I'm no fan of the rest of these bands (and those who sound like U2 usually suck).After listening to Narcotic, I'm no fan of No Second Troy either. The quintet serves as a reminder that not all independent recording artists play "indie rock"—whether you see that as a good thing or not. Either way, the opposite is worse: corporate rock.For many artists, independent labels are just a stepping stone to bigger thi

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Maggie May These are the reviewsand other assignmentsI'm working on this month.Amazon CDs:Test Your Reflex - The Burning Hour.Amazon DVDs: Big - The Director's Cut [special features] (Penny Marshall directs Tom Hanks), The Chocolate War (Keith Gordon's directorial debut), 638 Ways to Kill Castro, Driving Lessons(Brit eccentricity with Rupert "Ron Weasley" Grint), Maxed Out(debt doc), Vengeance Is Mine (Shohei Imamura crime drama!), On the Riviera (Walter Lang directs Danny Kaye), A Wedding(Robert Altman alert!), Making Love (with Harry "Hot Lips" Ham-lin), and Kitchen Confidential - The Complete Series [two-disc set] (It's official: I'm a Darren Star

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