Issue date: 12/10/09 Section: TruLife

The latest album from New York natives The Bravery might have been created in the 2000s but feels like it was crafted in a dark basement in the 1980s.

The Bravery's third album "Stir the Blood" evokes a neo-new age sound, blending synthesizers into semi-punk rock beats. They fail to mold this style as their own, like other recent new-age inspired bands such as The Killers have, but instead mimic the styles of popular bands of the '80s.

This album breaks away from their previous two releases, which were slightly faster, less gothic and had more pop hooks that made for great album sales. Their previous style led them to be included on television sound tracks such as "The O.C." and "Friday Night Lights", boosting their notoriety. This decision to change their style reflects personal tragedies of the band, notably an attempted suicide by the lead singer's girlfriend, and produces an album that is closer to the hearts of the band but probably will hamper commercial success.

During most songs lead singer Sam Endicott moans in what amounts to an unoriginal imitation of Robert Smith of The Cure - not horrible, just lacking charisma. In a few songs he even sounds a little like an angry Bono.

The band does back up Endicott nicely, if simply in form. When he is angry the drums pick up the beat. When he is mopey and introspective the synths and bass thrum out blearily. Very rarely does the music break out in its own spotlight.

The vocals steal the show for most of the album. The lyrics are simple and devoid of any great metaphors or sing along hooks to make them stand out among a crowd of similar artists.

The biggest stand-out track on "Stir the Blood" is "HateF---," a very 21st century The Cure-inspired tune. This is one song in which the guitar has a chance to stand out, with a short but intense prog-rock guitar solo that punctuates a snapping drum beat. It's a song of violent love, with Endicott droning out, "And there will be no tenderness / No tenderness / I will show no mercy for you / You have no mercy for me."

This album fails to bring anything groundbreaking to the table, but fans of New Age artists such as The Cure probably will find this album to be worth a listen.

Adam Lambert

American Idol's season eight runner-up Adam Lambert released his first major label album since losing the top spot to Kris Allen earlier this year. "For Your Entertainment" offers 14 tracks co-written and produced by a diverse sampling of the entertainment business. This leads to an album that has many exceptional tracks that tend to be all over the place. The diversity extends from Weezer rocker Rivers Cuomo all the way to pop-star Pink.

Written by Muse front man Matthew Bellamy, the high-drama ballad "Soaked" consists of Freddy Mercury and Thom Yorke stylized vocals on top of synthetic music. Lady Gaga's contribution, "Fever," is pure Scissor Sisters, disco synth rock, and Lambert sounds right at home on this one. Gaga's tendency toward sexual lyrical content is evident, as Lambert sings out, "There he goes / My baby walks so slow /Sexual tic-tac-toe."

Lambert's voice imitates various famous singers with supreme accuracy, but instead of being good at singing every style thrust upon him, Lambert should focus more on becoming the best at his own vocal style. This album is great for those who like diverse pop-rock albums or anyone who enjoys listening to popular radio hits. "For Your Entertainment" is just that, an album aiming not to innovate, but purely to entertain, and in that it succeeds.

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