Monkeywrench

The decade-long gestation period of Brad’s fourth album, Best Friends?, is the best thing to happen during the band’s on-again, off-again 18-year existence. Early efforts sounded more like friends letting off musical steam than a cohesive result. But here, melancholy ballads and vibrant rockers coexist naturally. At time the driving rhythms on “Low” and “Oh My Goodness” recall Stone Gossard’s other gig in Pearl Jam. Yet, overall the grungier elements are usurped by epic grandeur ( “Rush Hour” ) or softened by ‘70s era pop and soul stylings that move Shawn Smith’s hazy musings on relationships to the front. Because of that, the elegance of “Price of Love” and “Without Regret” sound as fresh now as they would have several decades ago.