Really, it's a good thing more than twenty years after she debuted as 10,000 Maniacs' frontwoman, Natalie Merchant still loves the sound of her own voice, that grainy alto redolent of countless Marlboros she never smoked. She still doesn't exhibit much of a sense of humor; she often seems on the brink of delivering a stern lecture. Yet Merchant has frequently managed to turn her intensity into expressive and engaging music. With this self-released eleven-song disc, portentously subtitled A Collection of Traditional and Contemporary Folk Music, you fear the worst; instead, The House Carpenter's Daughter is just more happy proof of Merchant's inimitable manner. From "Sally Ann," which she sings up-close and personal, establishing her famous moodiness, and "Which Side Are You On?" where she belts like some veteran mountain singer, Merchant casts new and old spells. (JAMES HUNTER)

AM Radio Radioactive (Elektra)

The opening track, "If This Is the End of the World," on AM Radio's debut will have you playing air guitar and making devil horns in the mirror. A surging arena anthem with blazing guitars and a megaton chorus, it is everything you want from a great rock song. As might be expected from a band that has gotten Rivers Cuomo's categorical support -- the Weezer frontman grew up with singer Kevin Ridel in Connecticut and now serves as the group's de facto manager -- the Southern California quintet's debut album is all about big hooks and crunchy, irresistible riffs. From the enormously infectious "I Just Wanna Be Loved" to the jerky New Wave throwback "Oh Oh Oh," nearly every song is made for cranking out of the car stereo while racing down the coastline. (AIDIN VAZIRI)

Jim Lauderdale Wait 'Til Spring(Skycrunch)

There's nothing in Americana that Nashville-based Jim Lauderdale can't do. Just on the heels of a Grammy-winning collaboration with bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley, Lauderdale has pulled a 180 on Wait 'Til Spring, teaming with upstate New York jam-grassers Donna the Buffalo. Donna leader Tara Nevins' lilting vocals are relegated to the background here, but Lauderdale's versatile tenor more than makes up for it, moving deftly as the ensemble genre-hops. The title track opens the disc with a slithery rockabilly vibe, "Some Other Bayou" pays a visit to Cajun country, "Slow Motion Trouble" is a bluesy waltz and "Ginger Peach" recalls Sixties soul with its Hammond hum and big harmonies. Donna the Buffalo's trademark mixed bag of roots is in full effect, from the zydeco-flavored "Holding Back," to the Doug Sahm-tinged "Wowowo," to rambling Grateful Dead-inspired guitar. Wait 'Til Spring proves that Music City and the Finger Lakes are a harmonious union. (MEREDITH OCHS)

Deep Dish Toronto #25 (Global Underground/Studio K7)

When Global Underground kicked off in 1999, it was the first series to capitalize on the globetrotting lifestyle of DJs. GU spawned countless imitators, so it seems fitting that for 25, it would hook up with Deep Dish, innovators themselves, who bring an edgy slant to this double disc set. Deep Dish live up to the series' pedigree on disc one, reviving the spirit of Sasha's most lauded GU efforts. It brims with edgy cuts from Moony and Seroya and is imbibed with the spirit of a late night, saturated-in-sweat, dance floor. Disc two takes off on a more emotive tip, using tracks like "Breezer" by Junkie XL and Sasha and the lofty "Krafty" by Paul Rogers to squeeze out the type of raw emotion usually reserved for artist albums. Later, Deep Dish pick up the pace on the back of Miro's "The One That I Run To," leading a determined drive home. (JOLIE LASH)

Cooler Kids Punk Debutante (Dreamworks)

Cooler Kids songs are like a mouthful of hard candy: so sweet they make your teeth hurt, but yummy in a way that leaves a vaguely familiar, funky aftertaste which becomes less distinct the longer you listen. The duo of singer Sisely Treasure and Kaz Gamble (a.k.a. DJ Kazimir) are in search of the simple life on their debut, Punk Debutante, a billowy collection of Deee-Lite-ful dance anthems with titles like "E is for Everybody" and "Sugartown" that yearn for the carefree days and guiltless hook-ups of late Seventies Studio 54. Ex-Luscious Jackson member Jill Cunniff is one of the album's producers, and it has Jackson's patented slithery mix of urban dance pop, groovy disco beats and anthemic choruses. "New York is so fly/My high-rise is so high . . . When I walk through the door I'm a debutante/ When I punk through the door I'm a debutante," Treasure raps on the title track, which mixes Donna Summer sultriness with Nineties techno pop. The boogie's is in their hearts, but with too many same-y beats, the Cooler Kids get stuck in a groove they can't get out of. (GIL KAUFMAN)

(June 30, 2003)