Daughtry

"No Surprise," which Daughty wrote with Chad Kroeger, might be the most accurately titled song. Chest-swelling harmonies, portentous lyricism and strident choruses are just what we expect from the duo. The LP isn't surprising either -- a supertanker of diamond-cut singles, which usually start with an acoustic strum and end on a mountaintop. The muscular vocals are the centerpiece: he tugs heartstrings ("September") without loosening the grip of an alpha-man's fist-in-air ("Every Time You Turn Around") and with more ability -- if not instincts -- than his genre-defining writing partner.