These four singer-songwriter CDs don't have much in common. On the contrary, they are examples of the wide range of style and feeling that can be found in this type of music: from jangle pop guitar to dissonant piano playing; from gentle and melancholy to bold and jazzy.

Chet Delcampo's voice on his debut pop collection The Fountain sounds a bit like Elliott Smith, with occasional traces of Bono from U2 and a lot of country influence. Delcampo's voice is usually soft and understated, although sometimes it sounds unexpectedly deep. The mood is mostly melancholy, and Delcampo's faint, cool voice expresses this feeling wonderfully well.

At first, I listened to this disc as background music; nothing stood out. But as I played it over and over, I began to catch interesting bits of lyric: "Coffee with Mr. Tom T. Hall," "The memory of my beloved," "A spirit bigger than Texas." The fact that at first I only caught bits of lyric points up a slight flaw in the recording (though maybe this was intended by Delcampo). When he is singing at his faintest and most world-weary, his words get lost in the instrumentation. In "Coffee With Tom T. Hall," a train is going by; that's about all I can tell you. "Pine Trees" seems to be a sad song about the end of a relationship. I can understand enough of the words of "Story" to guess that it is a very pretty love song.

"To Sleep" is a mysterious, rather spooky song complete with Kimball Brown playing a Raymond Chandler horn (you know, the kind of horn that makes you think of rainy streets and derelict people, and a detective watching them all while he smokes under a streetlight). This song is followed by an unnamed track which continues the piano and horn instrumentation of "To Sleep." Other songs sound more country, including "Train Station." Instruments included on this disc, besides guitar, are dobro, mandolin, lap steel, and penny whistle.

This is an interesting disc. Don't let the gentleness of the music mislead you. Take the time to listen to it as many times as you need to catch the subtlety and creativity of Delcampo.

I enjoyed The Kennedys' Evolver immensely. It is noisy pop music at its best, completely different from Delcampo's soft music. The subtitle says "A new kind of music from the Kennedys." Not having heard their old kind of music, I can't speak to that, but if this is the wave of their future, I'm in.

All Music Guide calls this "jangle pop." Their definition of that term says "Jangle pop was an American post-punk movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s." That is a good description of this disc. The songs have bright, catchy tunes that do remind me of that decade. This is no coincidence; the title is a pun on the Beatles' album Revolver.

This generous disc contains 15 tracks. "Here Without You" is a sad song that sounds very much like the Byrds. "Can't Kill Hope With a Gun" is an optimistic statement of faith. "Girl With the Blonde Eye" is mostly an instrumental, while "Keep the Place Clean" is either about a stalker or about a typical '50s-early '60s man looking for a wife. "Good Morning Groovy" sounds psychedelic, as do several other songs in this collection.

If you like bouncy tunes and interesting lyrics, this disc is for you, especially if you remember the music of the '60s. With guests such as Vicki Peterson and Bill Lloyd, you know it will be good.

Erin McKeown is a bold, vibrant musician who can play several instruments and several different kinds of music. Distillation is her first CD release, although she has had two cassette-only releases and has performed many concerts around the country.

This is not your usual low-key, ballad-filled collection of sweet folk songs. McKeown's music is edgy, bouncy, full of jazz chords and proclamations. She says she is a cross between Django Reinhardt and G Love. I suspect that what she means is that Reinhardt is an influence or an inspiration to her; I doubt her musical ability is that good. However, she is a fine guitarist and plays both electric and acoustic on this disc, as well as upright piano.

Her lyrics reflect her self-confidence. In "Queen of Quiet" she sings, "I'm the kind of lover who won't run for cover." "How to Open My Heart in 4 Easy Steps" is a gentler tune, but McKeown is still singing as a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it. "Blackbirds" features McKeown's jazzy vocals over a funk-influenced rock beat. "Little Cowboy" is a Western-flavored acoustic cut about a cocaine addict.

I recommend this CD if you are tired of the same-old same-old and would like to see the singer-songwriter genre stretched and tested. For more information on this artist, and to hear some sound clips of her songs, visit her Web site.

Skott Freedman wrote and sings all the songs and accompanies himself on the piano on his debut CD, Swimming After Dark. His songs are passionate, his voice strong and masculine. But the thing that makes this music stand out is Freedman's phenomenal piano playing. He was a child prodigy, and on this disc he shows off his abilities, playing some songs unbelievably fast, playing others with slow passion. I found it refreshing to hear so much piano and no guitar.

Most of the songs are plangent and mournful. "PS" and "Kami" are sad, slightly creepy love songs that give me the impression that one or more of the characters are crazy. "Lately" is an angry song about a man who isn't happy with the demands his lover is making. (My only complaint with this song is that there is a verse that doesn't seem to match the mood of the rest of the song.) "Swimming After Dark" has the most interesting lyrics, in my opinion, full of color and imagery, while the tune speeds up and slows down.

For information on Skott Freedman go to his Web site.

[Rebecca Swain]