So...tired....

Retrospectro, Anodyne

This Brooklyn band is a real hoot. A curious and original mix of power pop and garage rock, with nasal vocals halfway between Bob Dylan and Lou Reed and a Velvet Underground vibe in songs like "Anna Anna Anna," Retrospectro represents creative New York City at its snottiest. Backing up their simple yet satisfyingly twisted songs are humming layers of acoustic and electric guitars with an element of trance, along with subtle surf licks and organ chords - familiar parts, with recognizable bits of sixties, seventies and nineties styles, making up an altogether fresh sound.

"Sleepwalking" and "Rapid," which open the CD, are especially catchy. "Peace and Love" and "Anna Anna Anna" are also very good songs, and I liked the closer, "Take It Or Leave It." The remaining three are weaker. But there's a lot to like in any handful of this music.

Listen and buy at CD Baby.

Mala Waldron, Always There

Mala Waldron's cool, sophisticated work is just the sort of thing that could nudge jazz closer to the mainstream. With hummable melodies, grown-up but accessible chord changes, and a weave of smooth R&B flavor (especially in songs like the ballad "Because Of You" and the up-tempo "Maybe It's Not So"), some of these tracks should by all rights find a home anywhere that plays the lightweight likes of Alicia Keys. Yet even the smoothest of these tracks, though eminently CD-101-worthy, are real jazz.

That, and Waldron's superior keyboard skills, should be no surprise considering she's the daughter of jazz legend Mal Waldron. One of the elder Waldron's claims to fame was his association with Billie Holliday, and Waldron fille is a supple, fanciful singer who makes everything sound easy. Jazz vocals generally aren't my favorite corner of the music universe, but Waldron's are dead-on in tune, pleasingly shaded, easygoing, neither cloying nor precious.

Waldron wrote all the tracks except one, and it's clear she has a finely calibrated sense of what kind of material is ideal for her voice, although one gets the feeling she could credibly sing, and certainly play, almost anything. Even the fluffy lyrics aren't bad — and "not bad" is pretty damn good for jazz lyrics. Finally, her imaginative, funky version of The Doors' "Light My Fire" demonstrates her ability to make unexpected material her own. If I had to pick a favorite track, it would be the impassioned ballad "Proud Lion," which Waldron dedicates to her father. "Proud Lion/think he knew deep inside/that I never did like/long goodbyes." Nothing lightweight about that.