“Let It Go” is McGraw’s best effort yet. There are plenty of hits here — “Last Dollar (Fly Away)” is No. 2 on Hot Country Songs — but hits aren’t what sets this record apart: it’s how believably McGraw sings about life and love, pain and joy. “Whiskey and You” (”One’s the devil and […]
This singularly named singer comes across as a blend of Jake Shears, Freddie Mercury and Elton John, with a dash of Robbie Williams for good measure. In fact, “Life in Cartoon Motion” is like Scissor Sisters-lite: Retro disco with heavy doses of rollicking piano and funk. However, unlike the sometimes-sordid Sisters, Mika keeps it […]
That Good Charlotte is no longer the pop-punk act of 2002’s “The Young and the Hopeless” is old news to anyone who paid attention to its ambitious successor, “The Chronicles of Life and Death.” “Good Morning Revival” reunites Good Charlotte with first producer Don Gilmore and continues to expand the sonic path, venturing in […]
Since leaving Grant Lee Buffalo at the start of the millennium, Phillips has been consistent, if not stellar. While he wrote some of the best, underappreciated songs of the ’90s in his prior band, his solo albums have always been elegantly sung and recorded affairs, but the individual songs haven’t been particularly memorable. Yet, […]
Gilberto Gil has been a major player in Brazil’s music world since the Tropicalia era, yet “Gil Luminoso” is the first album he’s released that’s simply Gil and his guitar. The project, tracked in Rio, features 15 tunes chosen from Gil’s 35-year body of work. The presentation is about as minimal as a singer/songwriter […]
It took only two years for In This Moment to get its act together, put itself on the road, amass 130,000-plus MySpace friends and sign to Century Media. Signs say go for a mainstream splash given the media attention it’s earning. “Beautiful Tragedy” mixes tight structures, dreamy melodies and catchy hooks with aggro attractions. […]
British authorities denied rapper Snoop Dogg a visa for a series of planned concerts, publicists for his tour said in a statement Saturday.
Snoop Dogg, co-headlining a European tour with fellow star P Diddy, had been expected to play five dates in Britain.
“Snoop and his team are mystified at the decision and are hoping that […]
Kaiser Chiefs dish out a lively burst of radio-friendly British petulance on this sophomore set, a fine sequel to their 2004 debut, “Employment.” Like its predecessor, it’s a testy, scattershot endeavor full of Blur and Smiths influences, pub-worthy choruses and, of course, satisfying cultural whining. Like last time, the singles are better than the […]
J. Lo fans will hear a softer side of their diva on her first, all-Spanish language album. “Como Ama Una Mujer” is unabashedly romantic and completely different from the urban sound of her English albums. It is also quite removed from the earthier, rhythmic vibe heard in much of Latin pop today (although the […]
While his last album, “Live Wherever You Are,” went a long way in making Jack Ingram a star outside his native Texas, “This Is It” will likely advance his rise even further. The Radney Foster and Gordie Sampson-penned coming of age story “Measure of a Man,” Ingram’s turn on the Hinder hit “Lips of […]
In the United Kingdom, it’s practically illegal to mention the Klaxons without immediately following up with the phrase “leaders of the ‘nu-rave’ scene.” This has raised the band’s media profile, but is also misleading on two counts. Firstly, because — Klaxons apart — there isn’t actually any such thing as a nu-rave scene. And […]
It’s always seemed as though there’s a natural affinity between jazz and hip-hop, but few artists have managed to make anything believable out of this potentiality. An exception is the English sax man Soweto Kinch. “A Life in the Day” is Kinch’s second album, and he not only does a remarkable job of blending jazz […]
On pianist Robert Glasper’s second Blue Note outing, he sounds more relaxed and free-spirited than on his 2005 debut, “Canvas.” His voice already rings singularly true with expansive keyboard excursions, a willingness to pause midstream in a song and his penchant for overtly alluding to his gospel upbringing and hip-hop roots, best evidenced on […]
Meat Loaf scores quite the coup, enlisting Jennifer Hudson on a track from “Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose.” In fact, this is the only major-label recording other than “Dreamgirls” that she has thus far appeared on. With an Academy Award win and the public’s general warm fuzzy for the artist, timing […]
