I almost lost the opportunity of being the columnist* in the newspaper because of my nostalgic* penchant* for reviewing old albums. In fact, few new albums are worthy of being reviewed because of their shallow content and unmemorable melodies.

　　Counting Crows, however, is one of the few bands that consistently produces good music. The band became an overnight sensation* in 1994 with their album August and Everything After. Only a year earlier, the band was a group of unknown musicians.

　　The 13 tracks on their latest album are great. Every backing vocal*, every lilting* string*, trumpet* line, or piano run, was meticulously* crafted.

　　The opener, Hard Candy, is a light ballad*, the melody of which will stick with you for days after hearing the song. American Girls has well written lyrics which show off the band’s sense of humor. Other tracks, like Butterfly Reverse, offer pastoral* pop melodies.

　　The rest of the album is filled with pop songs which are sprinkled* with poetic lyrics, climactic* chording.

　　This album will no doubt attract new fans without alienating* the old. It’s one more success for Counting Crows. They really have proven themselves masters of rock and roll music.