On the Record

Hotel Lights, Bound Stems, Carla Bley Big Band

Rating: Excellent, like John Oates’ mustache.

Somewhere between the intimacy of Nick Drake and the enveloping warmth of Burt Bacharach’s ‘70s songwriting disciples, Hotel Lights shine. While their songs are, at their core, straightforward folk-pop, they’re tastefully embellished. Piano figures prominently on several tracks, as former Ben Folds Five drummer Darren Jesse channels the spirit of Eric Matthews’ Cardinal with more vocal finesse. Jesse’s aching lyrics drift from his lips in a tenor crisp as a fresh $20, the understated delivery lurking within the curls of dynamic arrangements whose melodies linger long after. (Chris Parker)

Rating: Excellent, like John Oates’ mustache.

In a single song Bound Stems go from discordant harmonies with passionately restrained vocals to an all-out display of love and abandon. Afloat is one surprise after the next, twisting and turning songs from ballads into dance mixes and sing-alongs. Half the time it sounds like chaos threatening to break loose with the tumbling emotions, vocals and instrumentation that run wild. But it never does, and the suspense built up bursts into bittersweet happiness. An apt follow-up to Bound Stems’ 2006 debut, Afloat is more cohesive, quirky and mature … and plain catchy. (Katherine Silkaitis)

Rating: Solid, like the Liberty Bell.

The centerpiece of this five-track affair, recorded live in Paris, is the 25-minute “Appearing Nightly at the Black Orchid,” inspired by Bley’s long-ago stint as a lounge pianist fielding requests from soldiers. A true jazz eccentric, Bley mines a nostalgic swing feel even as she pushes forward in her inimitable modernist way. It’s not a landmark by her standards (try her 1971 “chronotransduction” Escalator Over the Hill), but a representative romp with Lost Chords colleagues Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow and Billy Drummond, daughter Karen Mantler on organ and a gang of horn players. (David R. Adler)