Fall is Idol Season

Blake Lewis
Heartbreak on Vinyl
Released: Oct. 6, Tommy Boy
Rating: **
Key Tracks: "Heartbreak on Vinyl," "Freak"

Coming Soon

Carrie Underwood
Play On
Release Date: Nov. 3

Kris Allen
Kris Allen
Release Date: Nov. 17

Adam Lambert
For Your Entertainment
Release Date: Nov. 24

Ellen DeGeneres better be grabbing these albums to make up for her "musical inexperience," as haters have said in regard to the new American Idol host.

With her debut not happening until January, 2010, this fall proves to be prime Idol season with four releases from AI alum.

The first of the four is season six runner-up Blake Lewis. The beatboxing boy who lost to the tween-friendly Jordin Sparks called the shots for his sophomore release, Heartbreak on Vinyl. Lewis was dropped from the label that produced his debut album, Audio Day Dream, so he found a new label, self-produced and wrote all but one of the tracks for album number two.

The result is a throwback to ‘80s New Wave with a current sound, a dance record filled with electro-pop and musical euphemisms. The title track is pop in its purest form, while the message - the closing of local indie record stores - pulls on the heartstrings when Lewis sings Heartbreak on Vinyl was the name of the store/Now the store is gone and we can't be there anymore. Similar to Audio Day Dream, Heartbreak on Vinyl is catchy, fast-paced and an all-around dance record.

The album has breakout tracks such as "Freak," "Binary Love," and the title track, but the rest of the tracks run together as the album plays on.

Perhaps the most hyped Idol since Ms. Clarkson, Adam Lambert shook up American Idol in its eighth season for wearing eyeliner, platform boots, and teasing viewers with his maybe, could-he-be, I-think-he-is sexuality.

After a few months, some unauthorized track leaks, and a handful of gratuitous magazine covers, Lambert - or Glambet, if you prefer - is finally releasing his debut album, For Your Entertainment. The album has promises of glam, and was inspired by bands such as Muse, and The Killers, as Lambert recently told Entertainment Weekly.

However, it wasn't Glambert that won the most recent season of American Idol, it was Kris Allen, the nice guy, who won the hearts of middle class America. Allen's self-titled debut is filled with enough acoustic tunes to get females' - and reportedly Lambert's - hearts fluttering. But simmer, ladies. He's married.

And lest we not forget about Ms. Underwood, everyone's revenge-seeking country honey. Underwood is releasing Play On, her third full-length album since her win on season four of AI. "Cowboy Casanova," her first single off the album, is another boot-stompin', man-hatin' anthem, which is putting Underwood on track to become honky tonk's version of Alanis - but with prettier hair.

Coming Soon

Norah Jones
The Fall
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 17
KEY TRACK: "Chasing Pirates"

Jazz's favorite sweetheart is set to release her third album since her stunning 2002 debut, Come Away With Me. In the years between The Fall, and her previous album, Not Too Late, Ms. Jones tried her hand at acting with a lead role in the underwhelming My Blueberry Nights, and at musical comedy when she teamed up with Andy Samberg's The Lonely Island on its song, "Dreamgirl." She's now back to what she does best, as Newsweek calls The Fall "a step up in what is still the beginning of a big career."

Dashboard Confessional
Alter the Ending
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 10
KEY TRACK: "Belle of the Boulevard"

It's easy to remember the first time listening to "Screaming Infidelities" on Dashboard Confessional's debut album, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most. The question, "Did he just weep on this song?" went through every listener's mind as Chris Carrabba wailed his emotions toward the love who left him. Since then, Carrabba's gained a band, and possibly a few happy pills, as songs such as "Hands Down" proved on its sophomore. Alter the Ending is the sixth album Carrabba has under his belt, and he has now proven he is not just another boy scorned, he's a man with credible talent as he showcases his evolving songwriting abilities on each album.

Reviews Continued

Various Artists
Songs from The Point!
Released: Oct. 27 (Amano Recordings)

Pick your mouth off the ground, indie kids, and upload this album to your MacBook. Songs from The Point! is an arrangement by eight high-profile (meaning they were in Rolling Stone one time) indie artists to Harry Nilsson's 1971 cult-classic film and album, The Point! Each artist, from DeVotcKa, to Andrew Bird, to Nada Surf, brings its interpretation of eight of The Point!'s original 14 tracks. The result is a diverse array of vintage fused with modern, showing that indie isn't just the cool new craze, it's a timeless subculture.

Rating: ****
Key Tracks: "Everything's Got ‘Em," "Me and My Arrow," "Think About Your Troubles"

Nirvana
Bleach: Deluxe Edition
Release Date: Nov. 3 (Sub Pop)

Right when flannel is cool again, Nirvana's legendary debut album, Bleach, is reissued. But don't peg flannel for the release - it marks Bleach's 20th anniversary. The double LP features the Platinum Certified album in its entirety, plus a never-before-released live performance. The live tracks showcase a lo-fi grunge band that truly encompasses what it means to be a real garage band, and not one you play on a computer. Maybe with this release, Courtney Love will put some duct tape over her mouth, sit back and enjoy the music of the band that changed alternative rock.

Rating: ****
Key Tracks: "About a Girl"

Annie
Don't Stop
Release Date: Nov. 17 (Smalltown Supersound)

Norweigans are so hot right now. Ida Maria is screeching up the airwaves, Ane Brun sets indie hearts aflutter, and Annie makes listening to pop music just damn cool. The latter, who currently lives in Berlin, creates pop music that's based around electronic beats. Her girlish voice is a nice pairing with the free-flowing synth in the background. Her look is like Sia on downers, and her music is like Portishead on amphetamines. On her latest, Don't Stop, Annie arranges her music into two categories: club-ready ("My Love is Ready") and haunting, low-key electronic ("Marie Cherie"), which keeps the music diverse.

Rating: ***
Key Tracks: "Bad Times," "I Don't Like Your Band"

DJ/rupture & Matt Shadetek
Solar Life Raft
Release Date: Nov. 11(Agriculture)

If you're hip on the music scene, you know electronic is hot. So hot that it's hitting mainstream. Shakira recently admitted to Rolling Stone that her latest single, "She Wolf," was inspired by Canadian electro duo Crystal Castles. DJ/rupture & Matt Shadetek takes that hot electro formula and adds a timeless reggae spin throughout the album. Solar Life Raft is an eclectic mix of music that could be found in a Jamaican dancehall ("Cardopusher-Green Disorder"), or spun in a New York hipster boutique ("Pulshar-Mr. Money Man").

Rating: *
Key Tracks: "Cardiopusher-Green Disorder"

Junk Culture
West Coast
Released: Oct. 27 (Illegal Art)

In the first three seconds of Junk Culture's title track, the listener is cautioned that the West Coast EP is nothing short of funky. The album is full of quirky beats and weird electro, a result of mixing fractured vocals, with pop hooks and samples and running them through a handheld recorder. West Coast results in the perfect soundtrack for those house parties where you just want to bust a move. However, it is not recommended for long road trips, parents, or rural areas. West Michigan beware: this may be too New York hipster for you.

Rating: **
Key Tracks: "West Coast," "That's Not Me"

Mid-Life Crisis
It's Always Something
Release Date: Oct. 17 (Mackinaw Harvest Music)

Cover band it's not! Well, Mid-Life Crisis still does covers, but it has proven it can do originals just as well on the latest album, It's Always Something. "Blues, Soul and Rock & Roll," the first track, sums up the album in one title. Vocalist Tara McLaughlin goes from a purr to a growl on the song while she sings "One thing in common, we all got it...Blues, soul and rock & roll." Throughout the album the eight-piece band goes from easy-listening rock ("Lucky"), to intimate ballads ("One More Dance"), to loud, in-your-face, and ready to party ("Stages") tunes.

Key Tracks: "Blues, Soul and Rock & Roll," "The Grand Rapids Song"

Scott Campbell
Nobody Like You
Release Date: Oct. 16
We don't need to tell you that Scott Campbell spent a significant amount of time in Florida. One can tell by the easy listening, laid back songs on his latest release, Nobody Like You, his first full-length original. Campbell's precision to picking the strings is noted in tracks like "All That Matters," and kicks up the rock on the title track.

Key Tracks: "Gone Another Day", "Bella Donna"