Two Lights

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On his third disc, the one-man musical marvel known as Five for Fighting proves yet again that all that's standing between him and peace of mind--not the fleeting kind, but full-on, to-the-bone, heart-and soul-cleansing peace of mind--is a song. Two Lights picks up where America Town left off, diving smack-dab into the national consciousness and hitting, predictably, a sorrowful spot. First track "Freedom Never Cries" is a self-skewering lament that calls out to complacent countrymen by way of confession and an artful, piano-enhanced weighing of consequence. It's followed by "World," which reminds unpreachily, and not unpleasantly, that "history starts now." Where Two Lights better resembles 2004's hugely successful The Battle for Everything is in its more inward-looking tracks, the tender first single "The Riddle" among them. There, and on the near criminally pretty "I Just Love You," the mush-hearted may find themselves fighting the urge to hug the closest stranger. But despite his now-dependable dips into mopiness, John Ondrasik--Five for Fighting to you and the rest of the world--doesn't deny himself the opportunity to rock when he wants to. If anything makes this guy happy, it's the state of California: on "California Justice," he kicks off his shoes and works on his tan like a latter-day Beach Boy from the dark side, and "'65 Mustang" rambles down the coast with the kind of carefree vibe that, outside of a song, only a convertible can deliver. --Tammy La Gorce

More from Five for Fighting

Message for Albert

America Town

The Battle for Everything