Franco De Vita

It's just nine songs short, but for Franco de Vita, this unpadded album is a symptom of the guy's unshakeable artistic judgment. For all the predictable romantic themes, de Vita hangs onto his individuality, playing electronic tricks on "No Me Lastimes" and sounding like a late-breaking Beatles disciple on "Rosa O Clavel." Yes, there may be a few more trickling chimes than we'd like, but for every mushy chime we get an edgy push-back. The tension made this one of 2004's more interesting pop offerings.