Fortress [ENHANCED]

Amazon.com
If innovation is the yardstick by which you measure the worth of a rock band, Sister Hazel won't measure up very well. The Gainesville, Florida, septet is the very definition of a mainstream jangle-pop band, and you've heard their brand of music before, most recently from the likes of Hootie & the Blowfish, Edwin McCain, matchbox twenty, and Third Eye Blind. But in terms of sheer tunefulness and the way their melodies and lyrics lodge in your frontal lobe, Sister Hazel's songs on Fortress can make efforts by the other bands seem pale in comparison. The group's third album leads with "Change Your Mind," a feel-good summer song if ever there was one. Simple, straightforward guitar-based tunes like "Shame on Me," "Fortress," "Save Me," and "Champagne High" (featuring Indigo Girl Emily Saliers) ring with high harmonies and hook-filled choruses. If nothing else, Sister Hazel proves that it's not necessary to reinvent the wheel every time a band puts out a record. --Daniel Durchholz