My fingers ripped the plastic packaging off Everyday, the new Dave Matthews Band album, with anxious anticipation to see what wonderful songs the cream of the crop of musical acts had come up with this time.

I slipped it into the stereo and wasn't too surprised when I heard the first track and single, "I Did It." I got that legally off of Napster months ago. The song opens with a hearty guitar riff and Dave Matthews' harmonized voice winding in a hypnotic melody.

What I wasn't expecting was the rest of the album. It's darker, moodier and falls into a more classifiable musical genre. There aren't any "Tripping Billies" or "Ants Marching" on this album.

Everyday still utilizes the talents of the various musicians in the Dave Matthews Band, but the songs are not funky, jamming tunes of the past. They're meaty rock ballads.

A full year and two producers later, Everyday is an album that definitely shows how difficult it was for Matthews and producer Glen Ballard to compose it.

Matthews trudges along and fights his way through the heavier, darker tunes on the album, all the while firing out quick, non-stop lyrics.

He toys with your expectations on songs like "When The World Ends." I almost thought the old Dave was back, as the song opens with Matthews (acoustic guitar) and Boyd Tinsley (violin) playfully tapping out easy notes, while Carter Beauford (drums) and Stefan Lessard (bass) back them up with a soft hip-hop rhythm.

Then the melody immediately changes tone, which better fits the apocalyptic lyrics that Matthews exudes during the song. The tempo starts to drive and all of the instruments come together. Although Matthews sings of the world ending and burning, it's not totally depressing.

He shifts gears yet again by breaking into a positive Dave melody, with lyrics like, "But don't you worry 'bout a thing, cause I got you here with me." The song ends with "We'll just be beginning ..." and immediately cuts off and starts into the third track of "The Space Between."

"The Space Between" is a lighter changeup from the two preceding heavier songs. The sounds of a keyboard brighten up the melody, making it a very fluid song -- very different from "I Did It." The lyrics to this song are quite poetic and romantic with lines like, "The space between what's wrong and right, is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you."

Matthews and Ballard ordered the track list effectively. "Dreams of Our Fathers" is a fast-paced rock song that has an almost frantic beginning with Matthews spewing out questioning lyrics. Again the band alters the time of the song by slowing it down and making it emotionally heavy.

Overall, the album is polished rock 'n' roll, focusing more on Matthews' lyrics and emotional baggage that come along with each track. Everyday falls a bit short of expectations because there isn't much intricate musical banter and playfulness, which usually occur between Tinsley and Leroi Moore (saxophone).

One song that showcases someone other than Matthews is "Mother Father." Guest performer Carlos Santana's beautiful guitar whines out a haunting melody that anyone can soon recognize as great.

Although Everyday is definitely a mature album that shows progression, the Dave Matthews Band might find it slightly difficult to jam to these songs for any serious length of time during their next sold-out stadium tour.