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When married actors work together on a project, the end result is often unwatchable (“Shanghai Surprise,” “Eyes Wide Shut”). This might explain why Christian progressive and pop classicist Derek Webb and his wife Sandra McCracken released 13 albums between them before daring to record something together; they’re too smart to fall into that trap. However, one listen to their first joint venture, an EP simply titled Ampersand, will make one want to slap them silly for not working together sooner. Webb may have the higher profile, but McCracken is this EP’s star. Her song “When the Summer’s Gone” is the best song Sheryl Crow never wrote, “Watch Your Mouth” is as good as – or better than – the material on Webb’s superb 2007 album The Ringing Bell, and the two do a sublime cover of BobDylan’s “If Not for You.” The couple’s status as best kept secret is officially on notice. (LABEL: Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken 2008)

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Just when you thought you’d finally gotten their songs out of your head, New Zealand’s “fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy-folk duo” Flight of the Conchords strikes back with a full-length album to hold fans over until the return of their eponymous hit HBO series. Though this is actually their third album to date – a live CD (Folk the World Tour) was released in 2002 and a six-song EP (The Distant Future) sneaked into stores last year – the self-titled disc is the duo’s first official studio album. Most of the songs that appear in the 15-track collection have been available in some format before, and though several (like the 80s rap-inspired “Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros”) actually lose some of their comedic bite without visuals to go along with the lyrics, others are just as effective without them. “The Prince of Parties” (a Bollywood meets the Beatles pop-rock tune) is the perfect example of a song that, while hilarious when viewed in the context of a drug-induced fantasy, is still something you wouldn’t mind listening to while driving around town. The same goes for many others, including the pop ballad “Leggy Blonde,” the synthesizer-heavy “Robots,” and a glam rock homage to David Bowie. It’s too bad, then, that there are still a few stinkers on the disc; especially when personal favorites like “I’m Not Crying,” “If You’re Into It” and “Frodo (Don’t Wear the Ring)” didn’t make the final cut. Still, the Conchords remain one of the freshest acts in the entertainment industry (whether it’s as comedians or musicians), and as long as they continue to crank out quality material, we’ll be around to spread the good word. (LABEL: SubPop 2008)

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nelo (rhymes with “hello,” spelled all lowercase, says the one-sheet) is a young band from Athens, Georgia by way of Austin, Texas. And while these kids were in high school a decade ago, they managed to endear themselves to that Dave Matthews-meets-Sister Hazel brand of Southeastern jam rock, a sound they still bring to the table in 2008. But while many bands have tried to emulate that sound, it’s not always this easy to find one that does it well. nelo does that with decent songs and outstanding musicianship. Plus, lead singer Reid Umstattd can positively belt this stuff out. In all, nelo has put together a really nice debut that is tailor made for AAA radio. Most of it is jangly pop/rock, but some of the best tracks are the slower ones, such as “On Top of Love,” “Alright,” and “Please.” This band might blend in with a lot of other artists, but if they keep writing material this solid, they could wind up on tour for the next twenty years. (LABEL: Justice Records 2008)

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Since leaving A&M in the mid-‘90s, David Wilcox has jumped from KOCH to Vanguard to What Are Records? – but he’s still managed to release an album about every two years, which is as much a testament to his prolificacy as it is to his devoted fanbase. Problem is, Wilcox has been pacing the same patch of dirt since at least 2000’s What You Whispered; where his albums were once artful examples of how far a talented songwriter could push the boundaries of folk both musically and lyrically, they’ve slowly devolved into regularly timed collections of the sort of frustratingly shallow and/or didactic observations you can hear on any weeknight in coffee shops around the country. Early classics like 1991’s Home Again found him using his capo to wrestle with demons and explore universal truths, but all he ever seems to do anymore is mug for and/or preach to his choir. Airstream is pleasantly free of the slick-surfaced sheen that plagued 2003’s Into the Mystery and 2005’s Vista, but that’s chiefly because of the fact that it was recorded solo in Wilcox’s – wait for it – Airstream trailer. The songs are sometimes funny, sometimes sentimental, and always pretty, but Wilcox has done all this before, and better. Dialing back the production is a step in the right direction, but he still sounds like he needs to recharge his batteries and start digging a little deeper for his material. Fans will enjoy Airstream, no doubt, but they’ll be hard-pressed to put a finger on anything it adds to what came before it. (LABEL: What Are Records? 2008)

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The Birmingham collective’s fourth album finds it working, for the first time all century, with a set lineup beyond singer/songwriters Brad Armstrong and Buzz Russell – but don’t go thinking that means The Strangest Colored Lights represents a buttoned-down shift away from the shambolic, retro-post-folk sprawl that 13ghosts fans have come to expect and love. These 13 tracks, recorded in a basement over the course of a year, cover the same dreamy, spaced-out territory the duo has called home since 2001’s We Are the Sun, but their newly settled personnel help give The Strangest Colored Lights a more consistent sonic palette. 13ghosts’ sound is so expansive – and their relationship with melody so casual – that anyone looking for a quick, casual listen need not apply; this album’s darkest truths are buried deep within its knotted whorls. The press kit compares Strangest Colored’s sound to Sparklehorse and Pink Floyd, and for once, the publicists aren’t grasping at straws; this is an album positively begging for mood-altering substances and a laser light show. Pull down the shades, unplug the phone, and pack a lunch – you may not be done with this one for awhile. (LABEL: Skybucket 2008)

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