The Wallflowers

With the release of the Wallflowers' fourth album, Red Letter Days, front man Jakob Dylan solidly lets go of his father's coattails and begins to pave a path for future Dylans to explore, his own legacy. After the dim Breach in 2000, Dylan shows maturity and versatility exceeding his previous efforts. Not only has the husky-voiced offspring honed his songwriting skills to induce serious reflection about relationships, hopefulness and autonomy, he's become a bit of a crooner. With the easy-on-the-ears sounds of "Closer to You" and "Three Ways," as well as these-are-going-to-stick-in-your-head songs like "When You're on Top," Dylan definitely takes advantage of the melodic musings of Rami Jaffee's keyboards and guest guitarist Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. And if the new album doesn't offer enough colors in your crayon box, do not fret; the Wallflowers can mix future hits with the once overplayed (but we couldn't stop singing them) tunes of their previous discs ("One Headlight" and "6th Avenue Heartache"). Though it looked as if Dylan was begging to be on Where Are They Now? after Breach, it's pretty safe to say that the Wallflowers' Days aren't limited.