Black Frank - Honeycomb ($12.99) [Those having witnessed Frank Black exorcising his demons through screams and wails onstage with the Pixies will stop for a double-take when they hear this, an album the frontman recorded live in Nashville just days before the band launched its 2004 reunion tour. Black teams up with a group of dust-caked local musicians, whose collective resumes include stints at Stax Records, Muscle Shoals and American Studios, for a set of songs that are beautiful and warm--even when on 'Another Velvet Nightmare,' he mournfully sings, 'Today I felt my heart slide in my belly/ So I puked it up with liquor.' ]

Mraz Jason - Mr A-Z ($14.99) [Jason Mraz presents his latest offering and his second studio album-Mr. A-Z. Produced by the legendary Steve Lillywhite (U2, Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, et al) at Allaire Studios near Woodstock, NY, Mr. A-Z is Mraz's most inspired and thoughtful record to date. ]

Nickel Creek - Why should the fire die ($13.99) [Why Should the Fire Die? is Nickel Creek's first album without Alison Krauss in the producer's chair, and on it, the trio's genre-expanding acoustic music has shifted even farther away from its bluegrass origins. The opening 'When in Rome' perfectly encapsulates the aggressive approach the band favors, and features poetic lyrics far more obtuse than those of most groups with similar roots. The disc's first half stays rooted in a fairly conventional folk mode, with a lovely cover of Bob Dylan's 'Tomorrow Is a Long Time' (one of the few solo vocal turns from fiddler Sara Watkins) and 'Jealous of the Moon' (cowritten with the Jayhawks' Gary Louris) obvious highlights.]

Pennywise - Fuse ($10.99) [Their 8th album, The Fuse just may be the best-sounding Pennywise album yet. The legendary Hermosa Beach foursome have created an amazing, incendiary album from it first snare drum crack to its last molten guitar line. ]

Thompson Richard - Front parlour ballads ($13.99) [Front Parlour Ballads is almost entirely acoustic, with all instruments but percussion played by Richard Thompson himself. Despite the basic approach, however, this is not a sparse album. His guitar playing is as complex as ever, and the songs stand comparison with any of his best. The opening track, 'Let It Blow,' is a funny account of a relationship conducted in the grubby glare of the tabloids, and 'For Whose Sake?' and 'Miss Patsy' are sterling illustrations of Thompson's ability to frame modern sentiments and stories within time-served folk idioms. 'Boys of Mutton Street' starts with a riff which is surely intentionally an echo of Thompson's previously best-known acoustic song, '1952 Vincent Black Lightning,' and 'Solitary Life' sounds like it might be Thompson's take on Radiohead's 'Fitter Happier.' ]

Ween - Shinola Vol 1 ($12.99) [This WEEN release is only available at a few independent music stores around the country and CD World is the one here locally.....Great new stuff from your funny friends in WEEN.]