New albums

Hellogoodbye, "Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!" A conflicted full-length debut from the Huntington Beach outfit that finds frontman Forrest Kline trying to satisfy both emo-pop dictates (the better to sell a few copies) and his creative impulses (the better to keep from becoming a hack). When he turns his back on the scene that spawned him, the results are cuddly delights, no matter the many cheesy '80s touches, no matter how much he cribs from the Beach Boys (unwittingly) or Weezer (deliberately). When he's on, he favorably compares to France's buoyant Tahiti 80, whose records he should hunt down pronto. When he succumbs to formula, well, he's no worse than any other hack, though his insistence on Vocoder-ing his hooks is a major nuisance. Big potential, nothing more. Grade:B

Ani DiFranco, "Reprieve" Like much of the forsaken folk revolutionary's output this decade, this atmospheric one is more concerned with the personal-as-political than with outright (and outraged) politics. Several love-hate parables could be metaphoric, who knows, but she's only truly ticked-off once or twice, which makes such undoubtedly sincere moments seem like sops to those who complain she's gone soft. Which is ridiculous: These days, facing more fatalism than ever, she's simply leading more with her insecure heart than her rage-filled head. As if to underscore it, she's gone and made one of the quietest, moodiest, most diffuse and difficult albums of her career. Grade:B+

"The Last Kiss: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" Zach Braff didn't direct this romantic-comedy remake, but he did select the sensitive softies that fill this set, which makes it a sequel of sorts to the widely loved "Garden State" soundtrack. That disc introduced the Shins to a wider audience via two tunes; with luck this one will do the same for Joshua Radin (recipient of the double dip), if not Ray LaMontagne and Amos Lee. Braff tosses in zero oldies this time, and there isn't the same eclecticism, nor many surprises, especially for those well-acquainted with Aimee and Fiona and Rufus. But its obviousness hardly means it's subpar. Grade:B+

Also: "Port of Miami," the debut from hip-hop artist Rick Ross; "Christ Illusion," marking the return of thrash-metal pioneer Slayer; "Phobia," the latest from Breaking Benjamin; a CD/DVD edition of Aly & AJ's "Into the Rush"; double-disc reissues of three Cure classics (including "The Top" and "The Head on the Door") as well as Robert Smith's work as the Glove; "Tea & Sympathy," a solo work from Bernard Fanning of Australia's Powderfinger; and new titles from Todd Snider, Gin Blossoms, Fourplay, Blood Meridian, B.G., Kaki King, La Rocca, Left Alone, Lola Ray and Nina Gordon.