Audio Mixer: Phil Palazzolo.

The New Pornographers' CHALLENGERS was an atypically calm and reflective set for the hyperactive Canadian popsters. At the same time, bandleader A.C. Newman's second solo album moves away from the singer-songwriter delicacy of his solo debut into a more electrically charged and spunky sound closer in spirit to his band's trademark literate power pop. "There Are Maybe Ten Or Twelve" starts the album like Paul McCartney's take on one of Tom Waits's twisted sea chanteys, and the album continues down that eclectic path throughout. Highlights include "The Palace At Four a.m." and "The Collected Works."