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This Scottish seven-piece pump out audaciously grandiose anthems and bleeding-heart ballads with a fervor that makes U2 seem shy. Such an over-the-top approach could end in solemn self-parody.

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With his mournful aura and literary urges, Son Volt leader Jay Farrar could be considered the opposite of fun. Still, he's an eloquent, thought-provoking dude, whether describing a true-life nautical disaster ("Sultana"), lamenting industrial America's decline ("When the Wheels Don't Move") or pondering mortality via Keith Richards ("Cocaine and Ashes").

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Whether fronting the Old 97's or going it alone, singer-guitarist Rhett Miller has never been less than smart and subtle, but his fourth solo set is oddly vague and undercooked. Stuck in by-the-numbers romantic scenarios, "Lashes" and "Caroline" lack the twists of his more distinctive tunes, while the corny "Haphazardly" trades Miller's sly rasp for showy vocalizing.

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For exposing ordinary life's flaming weirdness, you can't beat the shabby folk rock on this Cincinnati band's witty third album. Leading with scratchy electric guitars, songwriters Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker express bitter dejection and wobbly optimism in raw voices that ooze needy angst.

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Don't hate Kevin Devine for being cute, 'cause the boy can't help it. When he sings about love, faith, and other weighty subjects in that sweetly tender way, you just want to give him an encouraging noogie. If Devine's fifth solo album recalls his emo days in Miracle of 86, it also proves that he's smart enough to vary his riffs.

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There's a thin line between clever and annoying, but David Lowery is careful not to cross it in Cracker. (Things were dicier in Camper Van Beethoven, his previous band.) Lowery's piercing intelligence and smartass humor click on Sunrise, his smoke-stained voice adding genuine soul to the quartet's chunky guitar pop.