Everything is Grande sequel; Branan does it again

Ariana Grande
"My Everything"
Ariana Grande "My Everything"

B+ Ariana Grande

My Everything

Republic

Ariana Grande's second effort doesn't go in a radically different direction, but big changes are there. For one, music veteran Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds is nowhere to be found. Still, the R&B and soul sensibilities that he brought to last year's No. 1 album Yours Truly are at play.

That's evident on "Be My Baby," with Norwegian DJ Cashmere Cat, and in the slick bounce of "Break Your Heart Right Back." Produced and co-written by duo Pop & Oak, the latter samples Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out."

Additional collaborations with rappers, including Big Sean, A$AP Ferg as well as Iggy Azalea on the single "Problem," might tempt some to accuse Grande of relying on old formulas. But she shows growth, exploring electronic dance music on "Break Free," featuring Zedd, and on the David Guetta-written "One Last Time."

Grande's dazzling vocals are powerful on the Benny Blanco and Ryan Tedder-produced "Why Try," with its hypnotic drums, and light-as-a-feather on "Just a Little Bit of Your Heart," with its aching and lovesick lyrics co-written by One Direction's Harry Styles.

Hot tracks: "Be My Baby," "Break Your Heart Right Back," "Why Try."

-- MELANIE J. SIMS

The Associated Press

B Cory Branan

The No-Hit Wonder

Bloodshot

Man, Cory Branan makes this stuff look easy. Seems like this guy could go shake a tree and three or four perfectly-crafted alt-country tunes would drop out fully formed, oozing with clever lyrics, smart-alecky attitude and tasteful arrangements.

He's at it again on The No-Hit Wonder, the follow-up to 2012's Mutt and featuring guest spots from Jason Isbell, Craig Finn, Caitlin Rose and Austin Lucas. There's a salute to whiskey ("Sour Mash"), a break-up song or two ("The Only You," "Missing You Fierce") and the Tom Waits-ian ("All I Got Is Gone").

But the killer here is the title cut, a seemingly autobiographical screed about living gig-to-gig, searching for a breakthrough that's always just around the next corner and never within reach.

Hot tracks: "The No-Hit Wonder," "Missing You Fierce," "The Meantime Blues."

-- SEAN CLANCY

B Jarrod Spector

A Little Help From My Friends

Broadway Records

Jarrod Spector made a name for himself on Broadway in the hit Jersey Boys, and in his Live at 54 Below show he traces the history and influence of tenors from 1936 to the present (with one short leap back to 1832). With his strong tenor voice and powerful falsetto, he pays tribute to singers including Little Jimmy Scott, Elton John and Freddy Mercury.

It's a widely varied collection of songs, throwing in a hard rocking version of "With a Little Help From My Friends," a deeply soulful "Who's Lovin' You" and an unlikely mash-up of Gaetano Donizaetti and Queen on "Una Furtiva Lagrima/Somebody to Love."

Throughout, Spector has a laser beam voice full of soul, personality and style. But anyone who finds tenors and falsetto singing grating or overwhelming had better look elsewhere. Or take a break between songs.

Hot tracks: "Una Furtiva Lagrima/Somebody to Love," "C'mon Marianne/Beggin'," "Good Golly Miss Molly/Tutti Frutti."

-- JENNIFER NIXON

B Luluc

Passerby

Sub Pop

Australians Zoe Randell and Steve Hassett are the duo behind Luluc, and their languid, sleepy folk calls to mind not just Nick Drake but also Mazzy Star and the National (whose Aaron Dessner co-produced Passerby with Randell and Hassett).

Passerby is the long-awaited follow-up to 2008's acclaimed Dear Hamlyn and, like that record, it's definitely somnolent mood music -- tunes for an early Sunday morning -- with gently plucked guitars and Randell's quiet vocals.

It's a muted surprise, with its minimalist lyrical imagery, and close listens reveal ripples and currents of texture throughout.

Hot tracks: "Tangled Heart," with its horn section; "Reverie on Norfolk."

-- SEAN CLANCY

B Sinead O'Connor

I'm Not Bossy,

I'm the Boss

Nettwerk

It has been a long time since Sinead O'Connor was both an essential artist and an expert provocateur. Her signature Prince cover, "Nothing Compares 2 U," came out in 1990, and two years later, she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live.

With I'm Not Bossy -- whose title is inspired by Facebook exec Sheryl Sandberg's "Ban Bossy" campaign -- O'Connor gets a measure of her mojo back.

The 12-song set mostly rocks much harder than O'Connor's recent folk and reggae excursions, with aggressive tracks like "Voice of My Doctor" balanced by rewarding experiments like "James Brown," a collaboration with Afrobeat scion Seun Kuti. O'Connor is characteristically forthright about personal drama.

More importantly, she mostly succeeds in making her travails of concern to the listener as well as herself. The best example of that is "Take Me to Church," a winning anthem in which she still seeks spiritual solace in houses of worship, "but not the ones that hurt."

Hot tracks: "Voice of My Doctor," "James Brown," "Take Me to Church."

-- DAN DeLUCA

McClatchy Newspapers

Style on 09/02/2014

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