Sometimes simplistic, often predictable, shamelessly mining the Beatles, Semisonic are your standard power-pop band. That's not to say that the Minneapolis trio's second album is pure candy. Feeling Strangely Fine lacks the wide-eyed, immediate appeal of 1996's Great Divide, but it's full of insistent melodies and great big guitar hooks. The band's relaxed moments – especially the beautifully...

The guy called e – the dominant singing and songwriting third of Eels – is a touch too precious about his neuroses and nerd-revenge fantasies for his own good or that of his tunes. E sings with a gruff, throaty vulnerability that is far preferable to the irritating weediness of Weezer's Rivers Cuomo. And as '90s bummer rock goes, Beautiful Freak has a spare, tight-focus sound that...