Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
First off, our apologies for going M.I.A. last week — which was the result of some fairly severe computer problems, the less of which are said about, the better. The good news is we're back with a bigger than usual bundle of brand spanking new album releases.
PJ Harvey's followup to her highly lauded White Chalk is a collaboration with her occasional songwriting partner John Parish (Dance Hall at Louse Point). This would suggest a possible departure from the stark sound of White Chalk — which was itself a departure of sorts — but with an artist like PJ Harvey, one can never really be sure what to expect. But we certainly can't wait to hear it and find out.
I'm not really sure what the deal is with the new Prince releases, other than the fact that there are three of them, and that they represent the latest of those retail exclusivity deals — which means you'll only find them at your nearest Target store. LotusFlow3r is one of them, and it shows up on this week's list from AMG, which presumably means that it's out now.
Swedish pop phenoms Peter Bjorn and John have their new Living Thing out this week. Flo-Rida is back with the followup to the mega-seller Mail On Sunday, on the ambitiously titled R.O.O.T.S. (it stands for Route of Overcoming the Struggle).
Country megastar Keith Urban is Defying Gravity on his fifth album. The great Leonard Cohen's Live in London arrives just in time to get you ready for that show coming to a theatre near you on his current tour.
Mark Saleski has come out of hiding to talk about jazz saxophone trio Fly. But first, Jordan Richardson joins the ranks of the NAR team to tell you all about the dance-tastic new album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz is already generating a lot of "album of the year" type praise from those bastards in the music press. This, their third album, rumbles with infectious dancefloor grooves and pulsates with the kind of synthesizer-guided splendour that will make you sick if you don't like good music.
Join Karen O, Brian Chase, and Nick Zinner as they take some chances with keyboards and still prove that they're one of the most interesting, exhilarating bands of, well, now. Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz feels broad and epic while maintaining a remarkable spark of intimate closeness amidst all the fancy sass and precociousness. Exhibit A: "Off, off, off with your head!/Dance, dance, dance till you're dead!"
You might think that the saxophone trio lineup (sax, bass, drums) would have nothing left to say. Sure, Sonny Rollins throws a long shadow, but that doesn't mean the entire case has been closed. So Fly comes along, bringing a sort of Ornette Coleman vibe. I say "sort of" because the music doesn't really contain the twisty logic of harmolodics so much as series of freely interchanged musical roles. And oh man, Larry Grenadier is a monster on the bass.
Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:
Gavin DeGraw
Free
J-Records
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Flo Rida
R.O.O.T.S. (Route of Overcoming the Struggle)
Poe Boy Music/Atlantic
Pop-Rap, Southern Rap
PJ Harvey & John Parish
A Woman a Man Walked By
Island
Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock
Diana Krall
Quiet Nights
Verve
Vocal Jazz, Traditional Pop, Standards, Contemporary Jazz
Peter Bjorn and John
Living Thing
Almost Gold/Startime Internat
Indie Rock, Swedish Pop/Rock, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival
Keith Urban
Defying Gravity
Capitol
Pop/Rock, Contemporary Country, Country-Pop
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It's Blitz!
Interscope/DGC/Dress Up
Alternative Pop/Rock, Garage Punk, Indie Rock
A-Trak
Infinity + 1
Thrive
Neo-Electro, Club/Dance, Electro
The Answer
Everyday Demons [Bonus Track]
The End
Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Blues-Rock
Rodney Atkins
It's America
Curb
Contemporary Country
Count Basie & His Orchestra
Basie Swings Standards
Pablo
Swing, Big Band
Chuck Berry
You Never Can Tell: The Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966
Hip-O-Select
Rock & Roll, Early R&B
Chris Botti
Chris Botti in Boston
Columbia
Standards, Contemporary Jazz
Bow Wow
New Jack City II
Columbia
Pop-Rap, Southern Rap
Bobby Brown
Gold
Geffen
Urban, Teen Pop, Contemporary R&B, New Jack Swing
Michael Christie
Mark Grey: Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio
Naxos
Contemporary Music for Voice, Chorus & Orchestra
Cinderella
Authorized Bootleg: Live at the Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan Dec. 31 1990
Island/Mercury
Pop-Metal, Arena Rock, Hair Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Bruce Cockburn
Slice O Life: Bruce Cockburn Live Solo
Rounder
Folk-Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Leonard Cohen
Live in London
Columbia
Singer/Songwriter
A.J. Croce
Cage of Muses
Seedling
Contemporary Blues, Americana
Gustavo Dudamel
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
Deutsche Grammophon
Romantic Music for Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta
Daron Hagen: Shining Brow
Naxos
Contemporary Opera
Filter
Filter: The Very Best Things (1995-2008)
Rhino
Industrial Metal, Heavy Metal, Alternative Pop/Rock, Industrial, Post-Grunge, Alternative Metal
Steve Forbert
The Place and the Time
429
Contemporary Folk, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Adam Franklin
Spent Bullets
Second Motion
Indie Rock
Jim Gaffigan
King Baby
Comedy Central
Standup Comedy, Observational Humor
Great Lake Swimmers
Lost Channels
Nettwerk
Indie Rock, Folk-Pop
Willie Hutch
Soul Portrait
Shout!
Soul
J Dilla
Dillanthology 1: J Dilla's Productions for Various Artists
Rapster
Alternative Rap, Hip-Hop, Midwest Rap, Contemporary R&B
Demi Lovato
Don't Forget [Deluxe Edition]
Hollywood
Teen Pop, Dance-Pop
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Authorized Bootleg: Live at Winterland – San Francisco Mar. 07 1976
Geffen
Southern Rock, Album Rock, Boogie Rock, Arena Rock, Hard Rock, Blues-Rock, Rock & Roll
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Authorized Bootleg: Live at the Cardiff Capitol Theater – Cardiff, Wales Nov. 04 1975
Geffen
Southern Rock, Album Rock, Boogie Rock, Arena Rock, Hard Rock, Blues-Rock, Rock & Roll
MSTRKRFT
Fist of God
Downtown/Dim Mak
Alternative Dance, Club/Dance
Ministry
Adios…Putas Madres
13th Planet
Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal, Industrial
Stevie Nicks
The Soundstage Sessions
Reprise
Pop/Rock, Soft Rock, Album Rock
Rolando Villazon
Rolando Villazón sings Handel
Deutsche Grammophon
Baroque Music for Voice & Orchestra
Benjamin Zander
Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 [Hybrid SACD]
Telarc
Post-Romantic Music for Orchestra
Original Soundtrack
Fast & Furious
Interscope
Pop-Rap, Soundtracks
Bobby Osborne
Bluegrass & Beyond
Rounder
Traditional Bluegrass
Pansy Division
That's So Gay
Alternative Tentacles
Punk Revival, Alternative Pop/Rock, Queercore
Dolly Parton
9 to 5 and Odd Jobs
Buddha
Urban Cowboy, Contemporary Country, Country-Pop
Prince
LotusFlow3r
LotusFlow3r
Club/Dance, Urban, Funk
Queensrÿche
American Soldier
Rhino
Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal, Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Hard Rock, Album Rock, Arena Rock
John Scofield
Piety Street
Emarcy
Contemporary Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Instrumental Gospel, Contemporary Gospel
The Shacklefords
The Shacklefords Sing
Capitol
Folk Revival, Folk-Pop, Country-Folk, Country-Pop
Maria Taylor
LadyLuck
Nettwerk
Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Pop/Rock
Thunderheist
Thunderheist
Big Dada
Indie Electronic, Club/Dance
Peter Walker
Long Lost Tapes 1970
Tompkins Square
Experimental Rock, Guitar Virtuoso, Folk-Rock, Psychedelic
Muddy Waters
Authorized Bootleg: Live at the Fillmore Auditorium – San Francisco Nov 04-06 1966
Geffen/Chess
Blues Revival, Electric Blues, Electric Chicago Blues, Chicago Blues
The Whitest Boy Alive
Rules
Asound/Bubbles
Indie Rock, Alternative Dance
