The Lonely Forest, Adding Up the Wasted Hours (out now, Trans-, thelonelyforest.com) John Van Deusen is an uncommonly honest songwriter. As leader of The Lonely Forest, his willingness to expressively grapple with ambivalence over love and politics, paired with his band’s ability to capture the attendant highs and lows in tightly wound pop songs, has resulted in a body of work that twists and turns around pressing questions before exploding with feeling. This powerful yet complicated sound landed the band on a major label for 2011’s Arrows—and likely led to its subsequent split from that label. On the follow-up, Adding Up the Wasted Hours, Van Deusen doesn’t let up, using his band’s recent struggles to create some of its strongest songs yet, rich with feeling and meticulous, layered, urgent instrumentation. It’s there from the start on opener “Pull the Pin,” where, over a vacillating, tense synthesizer line, the singer insists that “I try keeping my mind off things,” until the song bursts with Braydn Krueger’s drums, Eric Sturgeon’s steady bass, and Tony Ruland’s wending guitar as Van Deusen sings, “It feels great to admit that I just want to sit as the royalists stand.” Later, on “Warm, Happy,” the band states, in chorus, “We’re done waiting, we’re done hiding, we are ever reaching toward the end.” But the band isn’t obsessed. Relationships still dominate on the brilliant “Left Hand Man” and the bopping title track, which isn’t about contractual wrangling, exactly, but about the domestic squabbles and life obligations that get in the way of love. It’s endlessly complicated stuff the band is dealing with here. Thankfully, they are still willing to share. (Sat., Nov. 9, Neptune) MARK BAUMGARTEN

Pearl Jam,

Lightning Bolt (out now, Monkeywrench/Republic Records, pearljam.com) As a band matures, its catalog assumes a life of its own—and Pearl Jam’s 10th studio entry marks middle age’s comfortable yet itchy peak with layers of caution and enthusiasm. After 23 years together, Eddie Vedder and co. (with producer Brendan O’Brien) are as compelling and driven as ever, performing with palpable emotional intensity. While introspection and political antipathy fueled previous efforts, Lightning Bolt is powered by profound love, the fear of loss, and a disdain for hypocrisy. (Surely figuring into this equation is the fact that Vedder and guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard are now dads.) The album opens with an appropriate jolt: chunky chords propel defiant “Getaway;” “Mind Your Manners” sizzles at a frenetic pace; “My Father’s Son” rails against terrible parenting. Through each, Matt Cameron and Jeff Ament’s rhythm section drives surprising tempo changes while Vedder’s verses sprint, rat-a-tat, and soar. There’s more exploration here than in 2009’s brief, seesawing Backspacer. “Let the Records Play” is a raucous, dirty, blues-dipped bouncer. Vedder’s own “Sleeping By Myself” gets a curious near-country cover. Vocal layers (“Infallible”) and hollow guitar wah (“Pendulum”) add atmosphere and depth. As is their trademark, Pearl Jam counterpunches fierceness with elegant balladry. “Future Days” recalls The Who’s “Love, Reign O’er Me.” And the majestic love song “Sirens” rivals their best work. (When Vedder sings “I study your face/The fear goes away,” you will be moved.) Lightning Bolt is equal parts adrenaline and oxytocin, a balance befitting midlife’s precarious perspective. It catches Pearl Jam looking both behind and beyond. And if the band’s return to music-video production and its upcoming soundtrack for the World Series is any indication, the view must be inspiring and rejuvenating. Text ColorSwatch/NoneStrokeStyle/$ID/SolidText ColorSwatch/NoneStrokeStyle/$ID/SolidText ColorText ColorText ColorText ColorCLINT BROWNLEE

Recess Monkey, Desert Island Disc (out now, self-released, recessmonkeytown.com) With quirky, kid-friendly titles like “Coconut Radio,” “Hide and Seek,” and “Getting a Sunburn,” Recess Monkey’s Desert Island Disc—the 10th release for the “acclaimed children’s music band”—would really like to enchant youngsters. But its hard-to-hear lyrics and soft, ukulele-heavy music isn’t quite catchy enough to do that. In the words of Nina, my 6-year-old, “It’s too slow” and “The words don’t make sense to me” (though she did enjoy the line “Don’t be a peeker” in “Hide and Seek” and the clearly enunciated rhymes about finding sea glass in “My Treasure”). As a parent, I appreciate the Beach Boys-esque melodies (with a smattering of Grateful Dead and the Beatles) as well as the addition of violins, cellos, clarinet, and flugelhorn. But I’m with my daughter on this one. The songs all sort of sound alike, none of them hooky enough to appeal to little people. Parents, on the other hand, might have some fun pitting “Shrimp” next to G. Love’s “Cold Beverages”—they share a similar musicality. (Select weekends Oct. 19–Dec. 15, Teatro Zinzanni) NICOLE SPRINKLE

Smokey Brights, Beg, Borrow, and Steal 7˝ (out now, self-released, smokeybrights.com) This Seattle-based act describes its music as warm, vintage pop with a rock edge—and for good reason. You’ll feel this from the opening notes of the title track. In the same vein as Fleet Foxes and The Head and the Heart, the five-piece creates stuff that just screams autumn in the Pacific Northwest. Much like Smokey Brights’ previous releases, “Beg, Borrow, and Steal” and its flip side, “Exotic Pets,” are full of orchestral arrangements, flowing melodies, good stories, and impeccable harmonies. Heavily rooted in folk-rock and Americana, this release is a small taste of what fans can expect from the band’s upcoming full-length, which they plan to record this winter. And while the band admits they’re looking to develop a more cohesive rock sound, the folk undertones—shaped heavily by Ryan Devlin and Kim West’s harmonies and guitarist Mike Kalnoky’s intricate blues stylings—continue to be an integral part of the band’s sound. And we really, really like it. (Fri., Oct. 18, Tractor) KEEGAN PROSSER

Shannon Stephens, Something Good (self-released, out now) The four tracks of this digital-only EP were recorded on a bit of a lark. Noting her live band’s chemistry, Shannon Stephens decided to experiment and allow the band—drummer Andrew Rudd, upright bass player Terry Mattson, and pianist BC Campbell—to create its own arrangements for her to sing over. Two of the songs are covers: The slinking rendition of Depeche Mode’s “World in My Eyes” benefits from Mattson’s sinuous bass lines, while the Stevie Wonder–penned funk classic “Tell Me Something Good” is given a more playful, twangy treatment, proving the band’s good humor as well as Stephens’ vocal command. On the other two tracks, we get to hear Stephens revisit a couple songs from her 2000 self-titled debut; these originals reveal her band’s understanding of its leader. On “My Feeble Heart,” Rudd provides a syncopated beat that drives the song forward even as Stephens is falling apart, singing that the “self-confidence I had is dwindling rapidly.” Campbell’s playful piano lines buoy the song even as its lyric dips. Campbell uses the keys again to set the mood on “So Gentle, Your Arms,” creating a spacious place—somewhere near Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song”—where Stephens’ intoxicating voice can tell the heartbreaking story of a time now long passed. (Fri., Oct. 18, Fremont Abbey)

MARK BAUMGARTEN