The five young men who form Contemporary a cappella group measureXmeasure, slimmed down from the original nine who founded the group at the University of Kansas in 1995, have two successful CDs, "Measure by Measure" and "We're Back," under their belts, and "On Our Own" is an impressive third effort! We like to see the little note, "all music on this CD was created by the voices and appendages of the group," because it usually means there's some butt-kicking vocal percussion, and there's some of the best we've heard here. 11 songs, including some originals, "My Heart," "Live and Learn," "So In Love With You," "Everything" and "On Our Own," and some excellent covers: "Up the Ladder to the Roof," "You Don't Treat Me No Good," "Mustang Sally," "Only You," "Don't Let Your Heart," and finishing, incongruously, by nailing Maurice Durufle's sacred masterpiece, "Ubi Caritas." The group does their own arrangements and has the kind of juice and flair only found in the best Contemporary groups like Rockapella and m-pact. "On Our Own" is one of the best we've heard this year.

Songlist: Up the Ladder to the Roof, You Don't Treat Me No Good, My Heart, Mustang Sally, Only You (And You Alone), Live and Learn, So in Love With You, Everything, On Our Own, Don't Let Your Heart, Ubi Caritas

From that indie-music oasis, Lawrence, Kansas, come MeasureXMeasure (Measure-by-Measure is how that reads). These five young twenty-something fellows incorporate some hip-hop/dance/electronica energy into their yes, exclusively a cappella contemporary sound, which is also made up entirely of original tunes, save for "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," arranged by the group's own Jeff Smith. This track deserves special mention, both for originality and execution; it's different, strikes the proper balance between economy and surfeit, and is absolutely in tune. If they do this live, it must bring down the house. Not to give an incorrect impression, "Rainbow" is a stylistic anomaly, but the point is that these five bring a measure of skill that is promising indeed. Given that all of the group members write, their originals haven't forged the same distinct personality, but there's a lot of potential here.

Songlist: I Have A Plan, Give It Up, If.., In The Same Shoes, Can't Seem To Say Goodbye, Whatcha Gonna Do?, I Feel You In My Heart, Be Your Man, Hear Me Say, Runnin' Through My Mind, Step Up To The Mic, Somewhere Over The Rainbow