Underrated/Overrated

UNDERRATED

The return of Kevin Kline: Sure, Kline hasn’t exactly gone anywhere, given his splendid turn last year as Cyrano on PBS’ “Great Performances,” but we’ve missed his sterling timing in absurdist comedies such as “Soapdish” and “A Fish Called Wanda.” Later this month brings “The Extra Man,” an indie with a killer trailer that finds Kline effortlessly flexing those chops as a prickly middle-aged escort. Welcome back, Kevin. Do stay awhile.

Josh Clayton-Felt: Hard to believe, but we’re 10 years removed from the death of this L.A.-based singer-songwriter, who led the equally underrated ‘90s power-pop band School of Fish. Lost to cancer at just age 32, Clayton-Felt had a knack for sticky, Beatle-esque melodies when teamed with guitarist Mike Ward on minor hits such as “3 Strange Days” and “Wrong,” and his solo work recalled a funkier, less-ethereal Jeff Buckley. Give him a listen.

OVERRATED

Girl-group reverb: Whether it’s Best Coast, Vivian Girls or Dum Dum Girls (and we can hardly tell the difference between the last two), a grittily low-fi, Phil Spector-informed sheen of echoey vocal melodies has become a common denominator among way too many female-fronted indie rock bands these days. While we love a vintage wall of sound as much as anyone, it’s time for everyone to let go of the past and just belt one out like it’s 2010.

Craig Kilborn’s comeback: We’ll always give this former ESPN anchor credit for helping birth an apolitical early incarnation of “The Daily Show” seemingly a lifetime ago, but something about the self-aware smarminess that served Kilborn so well in the ‘90s falls flat in his new yet very familiar “The Kilborn File.” Not that television of today is awash in sincerity, but Kilborn’s mock superiority seems dated in this golden age of genial awkwardness.