The outcome of this hybrid is mixed. The album's finest moments come on straight-ahead ska tunes like the English Beat-spiced "One Day" and the Toasters-ish "Shattered and Torn," where the band lock into a gentle mid-tempo groove punctuated by rich horn lines. The less memorable moments derive from Fighting Gravity's attempts at pop-radio sophistication on "Sparrow" and "Spinning." Here overproduction gets the best of them: the saxes sometimes sound like Kenny G, the guitar is thin, and the drums are too understated. The result is painless if undistinctive.

-- Lorne Behrman

(Fighting Gravity play the Harp next weekend, June 21 and 22.)