Album Reviews

** Jann Arden, “Living Under the Sun,” A&M.; Try as you might, you can’t keep your mind from wandering while listening to this Canadian’s second album. It’s not awful--Arden’s relaxed vocals have a modest charm, and the lyrics are occasionally clever. It’s just not quite as spunky as the Indigo Girls or as earnest as Jackson Browne, who guests unremarkably on “Unloved.” Arden headlines the Troubadour on Tuesday (with the aforementioned Ron Sexsmith opening).

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).