Kenny Chesney, 'Welcome to the Fishbowl' (BNA Records Label)

Country megastar and Caribbean cowboy Kenny Chesney once again shows a more reflective and vulnerable side on his new album, "Welcome to the Fishbowl," the follow-up to his platinum-selling 2010 album, "Hemingway's Whiskey."

In the aching "Come Over," Chesney laments, "I don't think I can take this bed getting any colder." "Sing 'Em Good My Friend" deals with the emotional turmoil of a devastating personal loss. And "While He Still Knows Who I Am" is a tender song about a son trying to make the most of his remaining time with a father diagnosed with Alzheimer's."

Much lighter is the rocking title song, "Welcome to the Fishbowl," about a lack of privacy in the Internet age, "when everybody's business is everybody's business."

On this mellow, mature collection of ballads and rockers, country music's resident party animal seems more willing to probe his deeper emotions.

Yet there's plenty to grin about, too. Chesney delivers some upbeat grooves on "Feel Like a Rock Star" (a duet with Tim McGraw, his co-headliner for a massive summer tour). And "Time Flies" takes the party back to the beach for some carefree chill time.

Gene Stout, Special to The Seattle Times

Other new releases

"The Idler Wheel ... ," Fiona Apple (Epic)

"Oceania," Smashing Pumpkins (EMI)

"Rhythm and Repose," Glen Hansard (ANTI)