Taylor Swift, 'Fearless'
Instead of juvenile gay jabs, we get fairytale name-drops. So, yeah, Taylor Swift hasn't grown up much after releasing her claim-to-fame debut at just 16. But on her No. 1-charting sophomore shiner, the quasi-country cutie swoons. Mostly free of feisty firecrackers, like her debut's "Picture to Burn" (where she threatens to spread a gay rumor about her ex), her shtick pretty much falls into romantic Cinderella-like charmers and slower done-me-wrong ditties – all perfectly geared to her audience (tween girls … and me). "Love Story" is a chick-flick set to song, spilling more sweetness than chocolate cake and jolting hearts with its fanciful, yay-ending climax (all that's missing is the Disney movie that it's bound to accompany). But as marketable as her co-written songs are, Swift's anorexic voice puts her in the same league as Miley Cyrus or Hilary Duff; her sometimes-choppy notes aimed at disguising her shortcoming would have Simon Cowell grunting. Luckily, it's never too distracting, and she sticks to songs that require little vocal meat – like "Hey Stephen," "White Horse," and "The Best Day," where Swift writes a cute Hallmark card to her family. It makes it easier to adore her, but that's hardly an issue. She's already on our love-it list. B+
Bloc Party, 'Intimacy'
A Bloc Party album is a bit like a schizophrenic. One minute, it's a Euro-trash dance party. The next, a hardcore mosh pit or a Lifetime movie sob fest. Their latest effort, "Intimacy" – the third installment from the gay-fronted alt-rock band – is a definite genre jumper. But this is one disorder worth having. Rock-out moments come in catchy tunes like "Halo," angry-and-dumped "Trojan Horse" and "One Month Off," which picks up where their debut's hit "Helicopter" left off. The sadder songs make it clear that singer Kele Okereke has had it tough. Break-ups aside, the two slow (and achingly good Coldplay-esque) songs, "Biko" and "Signs," hint at loss. The techno tunes tell another truth: once-mum Okereke is unabashedly out. Straight (er, gay)-to-the-club songs like iTunes-only track "Your Visits Are Getting Shorter" (with lyrics like "Boys on your left side/ boys on your right") make it hard to imagine anything other than half-naked men grinding. Which is just an added bonus. A-
– Jessica Carreras
David Archuleta, 'David Archuleta'
On the seventh season of "American Idol," runner-up David Archuleta was an eyelash-batting teddy bear. Ignoring the oh-so-tiny fact that he can't even drink legally, who didn't wanna snuggle up with him? Problem is, just like a kid's sleepy-time animal, Archie's self-titled debut is stuffed with predictable goop that, unfortunately, exudes everything we ever knew about him: He's a skilled silky-smooth singer with zero personality. Nothing says, "That's totally true," like his un-edgy, plethora of soggy mush tailored to make him into a cuter Clay Aiken. "Crush," the flavorful first single, seemed like a promising R&B mid-tempo heartbreaker, slathered with an infectious pop hook – but the album's bulk is scientifically engineered in the "American Idol" generic processor. We're mostly left with blandness, snoozy tunes like "You Can," lazily produced mewls like "Barriers" and piss-poor-penned laments like "A Little Too Not Over You." It makes "Idol" champ David Cook look like Steve Perry. C
HMO Approved
Dido, 'Safe Trip Home'
Rueful weepers, like death-haunter "The Day Before the Day" and Celtic-swathed "Grafton Street," play with a summer-air lightness, but reveal a chilly lyricism. Three albums in, the sugar-sweet voiced Brit's done this sorta sad-as-shit atmospheric album before – but it's never sounded so personal. Or so good.
The Smiths, 'The Sound of the Smiths'
A must-have, this comprehensive aurally-improved collection traces the Morrissey-headed quartet's four-year evolution over two discs, featuring alternate takes (!), live recordings (!) and rarities (!). Cue piss-in-pants now.
Tracy Chapman, 'Our Bright Future'
No "Fast Car" greatness here, folks. But on the Grammy winner's first album in three years, a subdued folk-soul set that doesn't meander much from her musical idiosyncrasies, Chapman offers cabaret-tinged "I Did It All," catchy-chorused "Sing for You" and other worthy meditations on love, loss and life.
Deborah Cox, 'The Promise'
After a Dinah Washington tribute album, the power singer is back to making love sound like a pain in the ass. She restores the soap opera drama through break-up songs like stand-out "Saying Goodbye," but when she gets all Janet on us with self-explanatory "All Over You" she risks us walking out on her. Luckily, it's a quickie.
