A genre-busting hit maker, a legendary risk taker, and a quirky heartbreaker

BEN KWELLER On My Way (ATO Records/RCA)

This flop-haired rock geek's second full-length is a collection of contagiously harmonious rock confections. Tweaked with a slacker's optimism, Kweller balances adolescent impulse with an ear for the flamboyant, writing lyrics about busting out of a hospital bed for the sake of love and mulling over the unimpressive size of his apartment. But his finest moments are perhaps his darkest: The title track, a folk tale sung from the perspectives of a murderer, a thief, a friend, and a lover, is a souffle of sneaker-shod torment. Jarret McNeill

NOW IT'S OVERHEAD Fall Back Open (Saddle Creek)

They come from Michael Stipe's town and record for Conor Oberst's label, so it's no surprise that both men appear on the sophomore outing from this awkwardly dubbed Athens, Georgia, quartet. What is a surprise is the deftness of singer-guitarist Andy LeMaster's songwriting. His spacy, smudgy compositions, which fuse the strum and twang of folk-rock with the nuclear solipsism of post-punk are at once suggestive ("Wait in a Line") and anthemic ("Fall Back Open"). Stephen Mooaliem

N.E.R.D. Fly or Die (Virgin)

Forgoing the syncopated swagger of 2001's In Search Of ... in favor of a more introspective, psychedelic vibe, this second set from the Neptunes' rock 'n' roll sound lab is full-on funky. In his billion-dollar falsetto, Pharrell Williams waxes Pearl Jam on songs about suicide, war, and terminal illness that bump and bounce like the Sgt. Pepper--era Beatles playing the Jackson 5. Even the production is ambitious: The mix-downs are cast with wide stereo separation to emulate 1960s rock recordings. For these guys, the sky, it seems, is the proverbial limit. SM

PATTI SMITH Trampin' (Columbia)

Opening with the honky-tonk dirge "Jubilee" and tearing through the medieval reel of "Cartwheels" and the avant speak-sing number "Gandhi," Smith's ninth studio album represents some of her best work in years. Always a poet first and a musician second, she still believes that rock 'n' roll cool is about more than wearing aviator glasses, and her verses reinforce that reputation: "Radio Baghdad" is a 12-minute indictment of the West's military machine. Neither pretentious nor pedantic, it's certainly something to hear, especially if you take your music with a liberal splash of foreign policy. Jonathan Durbin

Finally Woken (ATO Records) This debut from Welsh thrush Jem is a lush, textured effort filled with dreamy synths, jarring guitar lines, and techno tempos that tick gently beneath her lithe, sandpapery voice. The former DJ (and co-writer of Madonna's "Nothing Fails"), in whose nimble hands basic studio tools come alive, leaps from jagged soul ("Come On Closer") to faux-Kingston dub ("Save Me") and Archies-style power-pop ("Wish I") with relative ease, creating a mix that's as club-friendly as it is radio-accessible. Tom Lanham

AMBULANCE LTD Ambulance LTD (TVT)

The Strokes put New York's "new" garage-rock scene on the map, but aesthetically, Ambulance LTD are more like a finished-basement rec room--faux-wood paneling and shag carpet instead of raw cement. Balancing indie and prog-rock instincts, the band's first full-length is a fully digested assemblage of classic rock and 1970s pop influences that still sounds homemade. Behind deceptively simple riffs lurk vividly original melodies, chugging songs that suddenly reveal a pretty side, and lyrics worth rewinding for. They're less precious than Coldplay--and often more fun. Dimitri Ehrlich

JUNKIE XL Radio JXL: A Broadcast From the Computer Hell Cabin (Koch)

A night-and-day deconstructionist odyssey, Radio JXL's twin set, subtitled 3 p.m. (extreme songs) and 3 a.m. (abstract spacedelica), is a guide to the hectic eclectic signals of Amsterdam auteur Tom Holkenborg. The multi-instrumentalist, producer, and creator of the hit Elvis remix "A Little Less Conversation" corrals talents like Chuck D, Peter Tosh, the Cure's Robert Smith, and Solomon Burke, who bubble and dub through Holkenborg's blazing sequences. Vivien Goldman

TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS True Love (V2)

Bob Marley often reprised his 1960s hits, partly so he'd finally make money off them. Clearly, that's not the motivation for this star-studded tribute to Toots and the Maytals. These remarkably strong duets with superstar fans are a vigorous, varied homage to the originals with Toots in tow. High-wattage harmonizers include Gwen Stefani, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Bootsy Collins as well as old-school reggae luminaries Ken Boothe and Marcia Griffiths. VG

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