Reviewing folk albums is a difficult task, since what may sound at the very least charming in a live performance often translates poorly to the recorded format. Often the CD you picked up for $10 at the street corner ends up in the corner of the closet, gathering dust.

Unfortunately, this will likely be the case for local power folk artist Nate Borofsky's new album Never Enough Time. The album shows hints of promise. On the track "Viola" (which features a viola in the background no less), Borofsky manages to reach past his rather ordinary voice and create some beautiful music. But Borofsky's major stumbling block is his lyrics, which detract more from his music than they add to it. Borofsky obviously means well, tackling tough political and social issues such as homosexuality in "Beautiful Boy" and war in "On D-Day," but even the best intentions do not make for great lyrics. And regrettably, the songs on Never Enough Time stumble through incoherent, seemingly random lines like "A rock thrown through/The rear window/They took my socks" in "Smash the Car" and "I keep trying to clean my room/There's a coffee cup in my underwear drawer" in the title track. So while surely a pleasant enough listen in Club Passim or on a walk through the Square, Nate Borofsky's Never Enough Time will likely be relegated to the closet corner. C+ -Stacy A. Porter

Kirk Whalum

Unconditional (Warner)

Kirk Whalum is one of "those guys," one of those smooth-jazz saxophonists who seem to now be a dime a dozen. However, with his eighth solo project, Unconditional, he attempts to distance himself from the pack, employing a fuller tone and grittier attack than before in an album of tributes and pop tune covers.

Whalum conjures the go-go groove in his tribute to the late Grover Washington Jr., "Groverworked and Underpaid." This performance is clearly the highlight of the album. Washington's influence can also be felt in Whalum's covers of Macy Gray's "I Try" and Shai's "Can't Stop the Rain" (which features guest vocals from the original artist).