Carbon Leaf - Nothing Rhymes With Woman (2009)

Long-lived mainstream rock band Carbon Leaf offered few surprises on Nothing Rhymes with Woman. It's a set of dependably earnest tunes, ably paced by Barry Privett's confident and versatile vocals, projecting various shades of hope and regret without succumbing to breast-beating anthemic rock moves. That might be a nice way of saying that there's not much that stands out here musically or is worthy of singling out for uniqueness of vision. At least Carbon Leaf do what they do with high professionalism and integrity, and some variety, even if overall it's pretty average commercial guitar rock radio fare. But it's not a great sign when you have to struggle to pinpoint highlights or noteworthy features, though one of those is a return to the more Celtic slant on rock characteristic of their earlier albums on "Pink." The brooding, slightly swampy thump of "Another Man's Woman" is a welcome break into something a whole lot more sinister than their usual brand of roots rock with a warily uplifting outlook.