Pete Yorn back in form with his ambitious 'Nightcrawler'

By John Kosik, The Associated Press

Pete Yorn is at his best when he's at his most ambitious. Following a somewhat disappointing sophomore effort -- 2003's "Day I Forgot" -- Yorn reaches for the sky on his third disc, "Nightcrawler."

The singer-songwriter's 2001 debut, "musicforthemorningafter," demanded repeat listens and was one of that year's strongest debuts. On "Day I Forgot," Yorn seemed to wear his influences on his sleeve, and the stripped-down approach failed to hit the mark as consistently as its predecessor.

He stretches his sound quite a bit on "Nightcrawler," offering shades of '60s pop, '80s Britpop, a few Springsteen-style touches and even a bit of bombast here and there.

Yorn's knack for injecting the most simple guitar riffs with subtle sonic touches lifts the songs a lot higher than they may have gone in lesser hands.

The opening trio of "Vampyre," "For Us" and "Undercover" showcases Yorn's knack for painfully catchy hooks and lifting, romantic choruses.

He slows things down here and there with a few sweet ballads such as "The Man" and "Ice Age," and offers up the Petty-esque "Splendid Isolation" -- but most of the disc's 14 tracks center on driving retro alternative rock.

Yorn can stumble a bit -- the electropop of "Same Thing" seems a bit out of place -- but he rises to the occasion with undeniably strong tracks such as "Policies" and "How Do You Go On."

"Nightcrawler" may have one foot set firmly in Pete Yorn's roots-rock past, but it manages to take an enjoyable leap forward.