It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a creatively enigmatic CD title? In light of Infuze Magazine's recent contest announcement, I thought it might be appropriate to give a little sneak peak into the latest prize offering. Entrants on the lookout for spoilers, consider this your fair warning.

If you're like me, the name "albatross" calls to mind a lovable, if ungainly, seabird named Orville of Disney's The Rescuers fame. In real life, the albatross is among the most efficient birds of flight of its kind, perhaps best known for the intricate courtship rituals that precede their lifelong pair bonding. And so takes off The Classic Crime's recent album of the same name.

After wrestling with a major label and losing, Jeremy Casella has independently released his latest album, Recovery. I'm always hesitant about reviews using the phrases "groundbreaking" or "artistic leap," but the words are warranted in this case. Up until now, Casella has largely dwelt in the folksy singer/songwriter mold with only slight pop leanings. However, it’s on Recovery that Casella takes the giant artistic leap.

One of the first things to strike the listener is the sense of hope permeating the album. The presence of strings and horns adds a warm depth that takes Jeremy well beyond the folk influence. His use of electronics is understated and tasteful rather than distracting. Splashes of static interweave horn melodies and string accompaniments. None of it is simply an add-on, every piece has been lovingly woven together by an artist truly coming into his own. The album occupies the sonic landscape that many people wish Wilco had remained in after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Pop influences from the Beach Boys and The Beatles to Radiohead coexist with folk and even classical elements, all mixed with nods to Neil Young. Yet it all works as a coherent artistic statement rather than a mish-mash of random experimentation.

When told what's in my CD or mp3 player these days, most people roll their eyes and cringe. Hearing it without prior knowledge of what they're listening to, most everyone else responds with interest, or at least curiosity. So why the mixed reviews? It's Hanson.

The very name conjures flashbacks of a squeaky-voiced trio from the late-nineties boy-band boom - a fact which isn't helped by the one-hit-wonder image radio stations have perpetuated with once-in-a-blue-moon airtime of the nonsensical, pseudo-scat chorus of the dreaded Mmmbop. But the boys are all grown up now. Their latest effort, The Walk, was released in late July under their own label, Three Car Garage records.

Since their formation in 1995, worship band Pocket Full of Rocks were relatively quiet, allowing their fan base to grow through playing churches, youth camps, and the like.  Then when CCM superstar Michael W. Smith recorded their song, “Let It Rain”, for his platinum selling album Worship in 2001, the wheels got to rolling.  The band was signed to Myrrh Records and released their debut Song to the King.  That album garnered the group tons of exposure as well as netting them two Dove award nominations in the categories of “New Artist of the Year” and “Worship Album of the Year”.  Two years have passed since that time and Manifesto is the culmination of that time.

While Song to the King showcased a promising new talent, complete with solid songwriting and passionate vocals, Manifesto proves to suffer the all too frequent malaise of the sophomore slump.  Built upon the premise that all of life is subject to a divine manifesto, a declaration of God’s desire for our lives, the album unfortunately doesn’t produce anything particularly original.  Truth be told, I can’t even recall one single lyric after multiple listenings save the tagline from the opener, “Good to be Here”.  And whether it’s the simple vertical proclamation of “Who is This King?” sharing that “we’ll lift up our voice” and “rise up and call you Beautiful” or the piano-infused “Take Me There” that proclaims that “wherever you are, take me there”, things just don’t shine here.