**1/2 Hamell on Trial

THE CHORD IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

(Mercury)

With Jewel on the cover of Time and James Taylor resurfacing, the world seems once again to be safe for earnest guitar strummers. So it makes sense that Ed Hamell is also back with a new disc -- his second for Mercury. In his years playing clubs in NYC and Austin, Hamell (a/k/a Hamell on Trial) has staked out an identity as the Anti-Taylor -- a solo acoustic artist bubbling over with aggression, prickly humor, and machine-gun guitar riffs. On "The Meeting," the closing song here, he does the rock critics of the world a favor by deftly summing up his approach: "I'm rocking like the Clash/It's acoustic kinda meanery/I'm as bad as Nine Inch Nails/Except I don't need machinery."

Produced by Butcher Brother Phil Nicolo, The Chord beefs up Hamell's spare energetic tunes with drums and bass. It gives Hamell the flexibility to wander from the funky groove of "Mr. Fear" and the rappish stomp of "Decisions" to stripped-down narratives like "The Vines" (about a stint as a highway weed-whacker in Texas) and "John Lennon" (about a junior-high run-in with Lennon in a Syracuse art gallery). The Chord is no match for the focus and intensity of Hamell's excellent live shows, but it is a spirited ride.

-- Chris Erikson