“Galaxy Bounce” made an appearance on the suitably funky soundtrack to Tombraider, so it’s easy to imagine what the title is referring to. The album moves smoothly into the current single, “Star Guitar,” perhaps the most explicit example of The Chemical’s new sound. The song blossoms into a lush melody with the subversive lyrics “Feel what I feel, take what I take.” Yet the female vocals and acoustic guitars are surprising, not the subversion.

Taking this less frantic idea even further, “The State We’re In” is a slow, sad electronic ballad. Who would have thought such a song possible from the kings of the frantic, distorted electric beat? That idea is still present though, permeating the background, and at the end of the song it takes over. Feel the need to bounce.

The driving breakbeat rhythms are everywhere in this album, and that’s what gives it its strength. Check out “Pioneer Skies”: A great track and no words can convey the overpowering urge it sets off to dance. Come With Us may not have immediate dance-floor fillers found on the Chemical’s 1999 release Surrender like “Hey Boy Hey Girl” or “Out of Control.” But overall, it is a better album: Come With Us is more diverse, but at the same time more unified in its overall scope. When the album finishes, there’s only one thing left to do: Stick it on repeat and bounce some more.

—Daniel M. S. Raper

Ben Kweller

Sha Sha

ATO Records

Ben Kweller is not your run-of-the-mill child prodigy. Born in 1981 in Greenville, Texas, he formed his first band at the age of 13, and was signed by a local record company the next year. In 1996, his band, Radish, was the subject of a bidding war that garnered national attention. The band broke up in 1999 and Kweller moved to Brooklyn to begin his solo career. In the years following he opened for Guster and Evan Dando tours, while also releasing the short EP Come Home. Finally, at the golden age of twenty, he has released Sha Sha, his first solo album, which comes courtesy of the talented people at Dave Matthew’s ATO records.

The long awaited album, produced by the experienced Stephen Harris (Dave Matthews, U2), is an original, catchy and downright enjoyable debut that lives up to Kweller’s immense potential. Kweller displays his versatility with song styles ranging from acoustic folk on “Family Tree” to pop on “Walk On Me” to rock with “Commerce, TX”, effectively defying categorization. Some songs, particularly “Wasted and Ready” are reminiscent of Weezer, but the most apt comparison is to singer-pianist Ben Folds, particularly on piano-dominated songs like “In Other Words.” Although Kweller is gentler to his piano and his vocals are less jarring than Folds’, their voices sound similar and both use a wide-range of musical styles.

Kweller’s lyrics reflect his eccentric personality; one could argue that they’re either poetically insightful or complete nonsense. “The butterflies are passive/aggressive/ And put their problems on the shelf/ But they’re beautiful” he croons on “In Other Words.” As Kweller, still too young to drink legally, matures and continues his musical experiments, we can look forward to decades of refreshingly unique music. In the meantime, try to hitch a ride to his show when he opens for Dashboard Confessional in Worcester on April 4.

—Nathaniel D. Myers