The U of Pennsylvania's mixed-voice, 14-strong a cappella rock and pop group has been sharpening its vocal chops in various incarnations for over 20 years now, and it shows. We raved over their previous CD, 'Quicksound,' and it's clear from the first notes of Green Day's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams,' Dido's 'Don't Leave Home,' Guster's 'Careful' and Nelly Furtado's 'Try' that the '04-'05 Loafers have a rich sound and confident professionalism far beyond their years. Strong covers of The Indigo Girls' 'Mystery,' Rachel Yamagata's 'Worn Me Down,' Coldplay's 'Warning Signs,' The Strokes' '12:51' and Vanessa Carlton's 'White Houses' feature solid vocal percussion, sweet leads and nice background vocals. 14 songs in total, without a single weak cut. A beautiful, spirited set from one of our favorite collegiate ensembles!

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their founding in 1986 as a co-ed a cappella rock and pop group from the University of Pennsylvania, the Loafers have appeared over the years on a number of excellent compilations of the best of collegiate a cappella; and on their own CDs, such as 1997's 'Diesel,' 1998's 'Ride!,' 2000's 'On the Floor,' 2002's 'Stealing Time' and 2004's 'Barely Legal.' 'Quicksand' has 14 rich, beautifully-arranged covers; a pair by Snow Patrol, 'Chocolate' and 'Run;' Maya Varthi has a wonderful lead on Aimee Mann's 'Humpty Dumpty,' and there's a pair of hot covers of Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You' and 'Addicted,' again featuring Varthi. Beck's 'Girl,' Chantal Kreviazuk's 'Time' and Sia's 'Breathe Me' are other favorites. The Loafers have a full, rich, confident sound with some of the best soloists we've heard at the collegiate level. Treat yourself to 'Quicksand' and fall in love with the '05-'06 Penny Loafers!

Listen to It's Only Life in RealAudio.

The '06-'07 Penny Loafers are the University of Pennsylvania's 14-strong mixed-voice a cappella rock and pop group, and 'Prophets' is their third release since their founding in 1986, following the excellent 'Side A' and 'Quicksound.' This is a fine collection of 13 covers, some favorites are Sublime's 'Waiting For My Ruca,' Jamie Cullum's 'All At Sea,' the Yeah Yeah Yeah's powerful 'Gold Lion,' Evanescence's surreal 'Lithium,' Etta James' classic blues tune 'At Last,' Regina Spektor's soaring 'Samson,' Remy Zero's 'Fair,' Christine Aguilera's 'Hurt,' Matchbox Twenty's 'Bed of Lies' and Sufjan Stevens' breathtaking 'The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us.' Strong, innovative vocal percussion, strong, spirited female and male leads, tight arrangements-this is fun stuff from one of our favorite Collegiate groups!

Listen to Waiting for My Ruca in RealAudio.