Pete Yorn's first two records had their moments, but mostly suggested a folkier, less interesting Evan Dando: handsome guy with a handsomer, bummed-out voice but not much to say, and tunes that wore out their mildly catchy charm with a quickness. With help from producers Butch Walker and Don Fleming, Yorn's third studio album is an improvement: similarly laid-back but slightly meatier pop rock that stands up almost as often as it vagues out. Rootsy songs like "Alive" match prettiness with better-defined melodies, and cuts like the falsetto-laden "For Us" rock spryly. But underwriting is Yorn's modus operandi--pretty though they are, Nightcrawler's hazy songs have a slack sound and little personality. It's supposedly Yorn's "storytelling" record, but only die-hards will want to bother figuring out what he's going on about.