Keane

One of my favorite bands -- Keane -- has a new song out from their forthcoming album: "Is It Any Wonder." I downloaded it on ITunes. The intro sounds very much like the intro to U2's song "Zoo Station" from Achtung Baby -- the instrumentation is similar, and they're even in the same key. But the rest is different. Can't wait for the full album.

Other music that I've gotten recently, all of which I liked a lot:

Switchfoot, Nothing is Sound. Excellent rock album. I couldn't do better than this review.

Plumb's Chaotic Resolve. Some varied styles here -- a few hard rock tunes that remind me of Evanscence, but some lighter pop songs as well. Like everything that I listen to, this album has lots and lots of catchy hooks.

Audioslave's first album. Hard-driving rock. I think this group -- composed of Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and the band members from Rage Against the Machine -- will have more staying power than other combination groups like Velvet Revolver (Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots and the band members from Guns N'Roses). I was surprised to hear so many religious references. I.e., Show Me How to Live ("Nail in my hand / From my creator / You gave me life / Now show me how to live"), or Light My Way ("In my hour of need / On a sea of grey / On my knees I pray to you / Help me find the dawn / Of the dying day / Won't you light my way").

Rebecca St. James, If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something. A heavier rock sound than her previous electronic-driven albums. Some songs sound a bit like Kelly Clarkson or maybe Avril Lavigne.

Death Cab Meets Cutie -- I got their song "Soul Meets Body" from ITunes. Catchy and folksy.

Revis -- I've downloaded several of their songs from ITunes. They're a hard rock band with a anthemic sound. I'm surprised that they haven't gotten a lot more radio play. They're as good as Nickelback, for example, and a lot better than some current rock bands with whiny lead singers that sound as if they're about 15.