Yorn covers old territory

On the initial listening of Pete Yorn's second album, Day I Forgot, it seems a string of stuttering, distorted guitar songs that would serve just as well in the background of a party as in between headphones, blocking everything out. In fact, Day I Forgot could have been a very boring album. It only has around three real songs on it and one of them was cliché ten years ago. But if you do plug in the headphones you'll find yourself surrounded by Yorn's dominating voice. Yorn cares about his songs and the people in them. Then listen to his lyrics and know that they're meaningful, even if a little convoluted.\nThis album needed to be better than Musicforthe-morningafter, but it's really more a lateral move. It covers the same territory, which was good territory, but Musicfor-themorningafter had an immediacy to it and this time that immediacy is growing stale. Those that don't care much for Pete Yorn won't change their mind with this new album, but for stable fans, Day I Forgot is worth a listen -- and a wait for Yorn's third album.