Relish Spins

Kiss

Sonic Boom

Label: Kiss Records

If you like: Glam metal

Song to download: "When Lightning Strikes"

Sonic Boom, the first Kiss studio album in 11 years, is one of the best hard-rock albums of 2009. But what keeps it from being truly great is the massive musical identify theft by guitarist Tommy Thayer.

Since being promoted from traveling assistant to Ace Frehley's replacement in 2003, Thayer has worn Frehley's makeup and costume, copied his solos note for note -- including his extended concert solo -- and even briefly sang Frehley's signature tune, "Shock Me," to the dismay of longtime Kiss fans.

So surely on his first studio session, Thayer would put his stamp on the band, recording his own solos in his own style. Right?

Wrong. On song after song, Thayer lifts key parts of classic Frehley solos rather than creating his own, and the theft is immediately recognizable.

Thayer makes his vocal debut on "When Lightning Strikes," one of the best tracks on the album and his lone moment of true creation. Yet even here, on what should be his signature statement song, Thayer can't help himself, copping the heart of Frehley's memorable solo on "Love 'em and Leave 'em."

Paul Stanley, who produced the album, shines on "Modern Day Delilah," the epic "Stand" and the anthem-in-waiting "Say Yeah,." Gene Simmons has his moment of modesty on "Nobody's Perfect," with the follow-up line, "but baby I come awfully close."

Drummer Eric Singer wears predecessor Peter Criss' catman costume and makeup. But Singer earned his whiskers through his 1992-96 tenure in Kiss during the unmasked era. More important, he brings his own style to classic Kiss songs.

Sonic Boom also includes a second disc of Kiss classics re-recorded with the current lineup.

Lucero

1372 Overton Park

Label: Republic

If you like: Bruce Springsteen

Song to download: "Smoke"

Four years removed from producing one of the decade's best country albums, Nobody's Darlings, Lucero has remade itself into something very different.

1372 Overton Park, the band's major-label debut, is a surrender without terms to the Memphis sound, complete with horns and backup singers. The album is painted with bright colors and big, complex sounds, completing Lucero's slow crawl away from alt-country that began with its 2006 release, Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers.

These 12 songs, propelled by Memphis session player Jim Spake's energetic horn arrangements, will blend in smoothly with Lucero's incendiary live show. The album fits in neatly with today's wave of bands looking for inspiration in Bruce Springsteen.

The music doesn't have the emotional depth of the band's earlier work. But Nichols is always on his game with tales of heartbreak, loneliness and joy.

Bowling for Soup

Sorry for Partyin'

Label: Jive Records

If you like: The Fray on steroids

Song to download: "I Don't Wish You Were Dead Anymore"

½

Bowling for Soup makes no apologies for crassness on its latest, Sorry for Partyin'. From the lyrics right down to the album cover, which depicts the foursome frolicking in a giant toilet bowl, it's apparent that lead singer Jaret Reddick and the boys channel the perspective of the average 14-year-old boy.

Bowling for Soup chooses this irreverent path for expression, and the result is catchy, melodic tunes that have tinges of funk, punk and 1980s alt rock. And though lyrically humorous, they sometimes aim low with the subject matter.

The first single, "My Wena," is exactly what you think it's about. Released ahead of the album, the video stars a woman parading through the song dressed in a penis costume.

As for the album, standout tracks include the torch song "Me With No You," the 1960s-inspired "I Gotchoo" and the bouncy "I Don't Wish You Were Dead Anymore."

The Swell Season

Strict Joy

Label: Anti-

If you like: Interpol

Song to download: "Fantasy Man"

½

Boy loses girl, boy meets new girl, boy and girl make lovely, love- and pain-filled music.

That's essentially the gist of Once, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning 2007 movie that snagged audiences with its soundtrack featuring the film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Irish singer-songwriter Hansard, the frontman of the Frames, and Czech singer-pianist Irglova not only fell in love in real life but also formed a band, the Swell Season.

Then the couple broke up. But that didn't end their musical relationship.

The group's new album, Strict Joy, troves that sensitive, post break-up territory with beautiful, mostly subtle tunes in acoustic tones.

Produced by Peter Katis, the album showcases Hansard's impassioned voice and lyrics on such numbers as the soulful single "Low Rising," layered with harmonies from Irglova.

It's her gorgeous, understated vibrato, however, that really makes the Swell Season worthy of attention.