Five for Fighting

The celebrated, Southern California-born singer/songwriter's fifth album under the Five for Fighting banner, Slice finds Ondrasik spreading his creative wings, ever so gently incorporating his love for classic R&B on songs like "Love Can't Change the Weather" and even firing up a Marshall stack on "Transfer." Lyrically, he honors his family ("Story of Your Life" was written for his wife of 12 years), friends and personal heroes, from fitness pioneer Augie Nieto to American servicemen serving around the world. If it's a tribute to a bygone era, Slice, the follow-up to 2006's Two Lights, is also an accurate and well-rounded snapshot of who Ondrasik is at the moment, as an artist. Produced by Ondrasik and Gregg Wattenberg, and partially tracked at his Southern California home, the album features sweeping statement songs like the title track, but quiets on sparse ballads like "This Dance" and the ageless "Hope," before ramping up again on tracks like "Note to the Unknown Soldier".

It was of course his tender playing and touching vocal on the Grammy-nominated "Superman"—from the Five for Fighting album America Town (2000) —which thrust Ondrasik into the national spotlight eight years ago. While written and released well before 9/11, "Superman" has endeared Ondrasik to the survivors and families of those lost in that tragedy, as well as to servicemen serving around the world.