An earnestness recalling Hootie and the Blowfish and the sunnier Lenny Kravitz stamps this fresh Cincinnati foursome. They're emphatic good-news guys wielding wicked chops. Eliot Sloan's vocals hint at Stevie Wonder; so, too, does the blithe, Aquarian spirit of the songs he pens with guitarist Jeff Pence. Synth-string arrangements lend luster, sampled percussion a hip-hop flavor, but ultimately this is a kind of soulful folk music sold with radio-ripe smarts. "I Believe" is all righteous, wide-eyed affirmation, "Oh Virginia" plucky country kitsch – but Home's finest moment lies in "Nora," a eulogy for Sloan's grandmother that hits the heart foursquare. (RS 709)

PAUL EVANS