Falling short of the mark

Dashboard Confessional

“A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar” (Vagrant)

**

If Dashboard Confessional (a.k.a. Chris Carrabba) has been sort of an acoustic Blink-182, what is he with an electric band? If the most profound magic of a Dashboard performance is the intensity of fans singing along with (and sometimes instead of) Carrabba at the top of their lungs in a communal sharing of youthful pain and fear, how do you replace that on a studio album?

Those questions really aren’t answered on the first full studio production for what now is a four-member band (due in stores Tuesday). The musical settings are tentative and ordinary, doing little to enhance or illuminate nuances in or expand the range of the emotions Carrabba works so hard to express. Even the cathartic scream near the end of the final song seems pretty garden variety here.

Why hire producer Gil Norton, who’s made some sonically distinctive albums with Echo & the Bunnymen, the Pixies, the Foo Fighters and many others, if there was no desire to do something unconventional? Carrabba is rock’s new Holden Caulfield, all about honesty, directness and purity, so perhaps he feared messing with the music. But he seems to have confused honesty with artistic conservatism, and that’s a shame.

-- Steve Hochman

It all adds up for hip-hop album

Defari

“Odds & Evens” (High Times)

*** 1/2

Although his profile is lower than that of the other members of the Likwit Crew (which includes King T, Tha Liks and Xzibit), Defari shows on his sensational second album that his talent is on a par with his more recognized partners. The Los Angeles rhymer has enhanced his lyrics, beats and subject matter since 1999’s solid, overlooked debut “Focused Daily.”

On “Odds,” Defari delivers the type of thought-provoking, soul-stirring songs many hip-hop artists tend to shy away from. The dreamy “Diamonds in the Rough” is a touching love letter to his wife, while the horn-driven “For the Love” pays homage to the positive male influences in his life, from his father to his uncle and stepfather.

Defari handles such potentially sappy subject matter in a way that will satisfy both hard-core hip-hop fans and casual listeners. Elsewhere, he flexes his potent braggadocio rhyming ability on the pounding “Spell My Name,” the bluesy “Behold My Life” remix and the barebones “Pick a Number.” With only one questionable song -- the negative, out-of-place “Slumpy” -- “Odds & Evens” adds up to one of the best hip-hop albums of the year.

-- Soren Baker

Quick spins

BT

“Emotional Technology” (Nettwerk America)

** 1/2

BT has a brainy approach to his largely visceral dance music, which makes the title of his latest album all too obvious. As with his previous full-length work, his musical spectrum remains broad, but the vaguely crossover sound in such songs as “Somnambulist” (featuring JC Chasez of ‘N Sync) and “Circles” (one of six cuts sung by BT himself) seem hopelessly moderate. But “Knowledge of Self” is a fantastic techno-hip-hop amalgamation, undoubtedly influenced by the mechanized soul of British dance pioneers Leftfield.

-- Tommy Nguyen

Brooks & Dunn

“Red Dirt Road” (Arista Nashville)

**

.This politely rowdy duo’s latest rocks and bops across the surface of life, offering nostalgic, tailored-for-video vignettes such as the title track, which focus on the where and who of the past, never the why. Their ‘70s rock ‘n’ soul roots leap to the fore as echoes of the Stones, Skynyrd, Eagles, Elton John, AC/DC and even Al Green come through loud and often clearer than their own party-hearty identity.

-- Randy Lewis

Gang Starr

“The Ownerz” (Virgin)

** 1/2

Easily one of the most respected hip-hop outfits of all time, the duo of rapper Guru and producer DJ Premier has been a pillar of consistency since it emerged in the late 1980s. But on its sixth studio album, Gang Starr seems a bit too calm for its own good. Premier’s funky beats still are effective, but they’re more laid back than usual, which isn’t always a good fit with Guru’s wide-ranging lyrics and nasal, monotone flow.

-- S.B.

Twyanna Jo Baskette

“Fancy Blue” (Sweet Tea Recordings)

***

Nashville-based Baskette wants goats to know that she hopes giving milk doesn’t hurt, because she likes goat cheese. She wants you to know that she hates cigarettes, because both her parents died of lung cancer. She communicates this and more in a Kewpie whisper recalling Jill Sobule (more intimate than cute, fortunately), in songs that started as a cappella improvisations recorded on a microcassette. Producer Clay Jones adds color without diminishing any of Baskette’s personality -- which is worth knowing.

-- S.H.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums already are released unless otherwise noted.