The Irish legend puts a fresh spin on his repertoire, teaming up with admirers young and old. Natalie Cole joins him on the joyful “These Are the Days” and daughter Shana on the spiritual “Rough God Goes Riding.” Best of all, Michael Bublé gets ecstatic on a thrilling remake of the horn-driven “Real Real Gone.”
Björk is a pop artist who makes distinctly unpopular music, in Top 40 terms—but remains endlessly fascinating. The Icelandic innovator’s eighth studio album documents her marital breakup and is full of shifting strings, buzzing synths and emotional outpourings, peaking with Björk’s triumphant roar of “I am not hurt” on the woozy “Mouth Mantra.”
The “Rise Up” singer has always crafted uplifting rhythmic music. Her latest solo album is no exception, featuring the joyous “Only Human” and the feel-good funk of “Who You Are (Be What You Be).” She also pays tribute to her late Parachute Club partner Billy Bryans on the moving ballad “Times Like This.”
Oasis remains one of England’s best-ever bands. Sadly, it couldn’t survive the fractious relationship of the battling Gallagher brothers. Rivalry with Liam Gallagher’s post-Oasis group, Beady Eye, did inspire Noel to record a strong solo debut in 2011. But now the 47-year-old Gallagher has outdone himself. “Lock All the Doors” has an urgent euphoria that recalls Oasis’ “Morning Glory,” while the dreamy “Riverman” is Noel at his Beatles-influenced best. There are also nods to Led Zeppelin here and there. But the album is more than a tribute to Gallagher’s rock heroes. “In the Heat of the Moment” and “Ballad of the Mighty I,” the latter with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, feature all the...
Everything old is new again for this sibling trio, whose latest album, produced by the Clash’s Mick Jones, features the deliciously retro sounds of old-school blues, rockabilly and R&B. The group, touring North America this spring, puts a bouncy spin on the murder ballad “Baby Bye Bye” and gets deliriously funky on “Feeling of Wonder.”
An unlikely friendship between the 68-year-old behind pop hits like the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” and Broken Social Scene’s 38-year-old Kevin Drew has produced a surprisingly fine cross-generational album. Along with a dreamy update of Kim’s “Shoot ‘Em Up Baby,” it features gems like the breezy “Sail On” and the moody “Sister OK.”
The sensitive rapper toughens up on his latest. “I’ve got enemies,” he admits on “Energy.” Drake then takes shots at his adversaries on dark tracks like “No Tellin’” and “Used To.” But his vulnerability shines through on “You and the 6,” where he confesses that his mother and his hometown of Toronto “raised me right.”
“Disco music is alive and well,” said Gloria Gaynor a few years ago. “It simply changed its name to dance music to protect the innocent.” The “I Will Survive” singer was right: the sound of the glitter-ball era never really went away—it just moved into gyms as workout music. Now disco is back. One of last year’s biggest albums was Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, which featured contributions from disco legends Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder. Rodgers, the front man of Chic, recently announced that his “Le Freak” group will release its first new album in more than 20 years this summer. Moroder, who produced such massive dance hits as Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You, Baby,” is also releas...
Last year, Trainor topped the charts with her body-positive smash “All About That Bass,” a reference to her derriere. “Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size 2,” she half-raps on the doo-wop inspired, Grammy-nominated hit, “I’m bringing booty back.” When asked if she was afraid of being a one-hit wonder, the 21-year-old Nantucket, Mass. native answered confidently, “No—I’m a songwriter. That’s not even my best one.” True enough, she scored again with her followup single “Lips Are Movin.’” Now Trainor has an album’s worth of sassy, self-empowerment songs, from “Dear Future Husband” and “Mr. Almost” to “No Good for You.” There’s plenty of ukulele, handclaps, finger-snaps, retro harmonies and...
The indie folk-rockers came to prominence when their last album, The King is Dead, topped the Billboard charts. Known for literate, historically based songs, the band comes by its bookishness honestly: frontman Colin Meloy is the author of young fantasy novels, all illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis. Now on tour with a stop in Toronto Mar. 30, the Decemberists keep up their storytelling ways on their seventh album. Along with the hit “Make You Better,” it features the horn-fueled “Calvary Captain” and the string-laden “Philomena.” The album takes its title from the stark “12-17-12,” a response to the Newtown school shootings. “I was hit by a sense of helplessness,” explains Colin, “but al...
