B+ Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Under the Savage Sky
Bloodshot
Garage-soul howler Barrence Whitfield and his mighty Savages rip their way through this followup to 2013's Dig Thy Savage Soul like Ronda Rousey rips through opponents -- with stunning ferocity.
Whitfield sounds like Screamin' Jay Hawkins' long-lost grandson on the mic, while the Savages provide the low-down, greasy, twisted, rawkin' stomp that would make any self-respecting garage band or rockabilly revivalist shout with joy. The guitar is furious, the sax is skronky and the rhythm section propels the whole, glorious production along like a finely tuned hot rod. All's well under this Savage Sky.
Hot tracks: "The Claw," the raucous thump of "I'm a Full Grown Man" and the howlin' "Wolf Pack."
-- SEAN CLANCY
C+ Kip Moore
Wild Ones
MCA Nashville
Of all the backward-ball-cap-wearing male country singers, Kip Moore takes the dirt road less traveled. The songs on his debut album tended to search his soul.
But on Wild Ones, Moore occasionally explores gray areas. The song "I'm to Blame" features a guy who regularly makes bad choices -- an alternative to the confident chest-beating so common in contemporary country music. The midtempo "Comeback Kid" is as subtly dramatic as a good Bruce Springsteen ballad, and "That's All Right With Me" advances a loopy, laid-back vibe reminiscent of Joe Walsh's stoner anthems.
Too often, though, Moore retreads cliched themes. He links drinking and staying up late with being wild and reduces love songs to creepy sexual come-ons. "Come and Get It" and "What You Got on Tonight" both deliver the title lines over the phone to a lover -- sentiments that were creepy even before Internet chat rooms.
Musically, the album consistently serves up clever roots-rock riffs and rhythms that separate Moore from the rock-meets-rap focus of his Nashville peers. If more of the lyrics matched the best efforts here, Wild Ones would be a triumph.
Hot tracks: "Comeback Kid," "I'm to Blame, "That's All Right With Me."
-- MICHAEL McCALL
The Associated Press
A- Future Dirty Sprite 2
Epic/Free Bandz
Atlanta-native rapper Nayvadius Wilburn -- known as Future -- is very much the artist who'd name an album Honest, as he did last year. Not that Future is incapable of error: Honest was unfocused and crowded with guests (Pharrell, Kanye).
Future is best served cold, alone and straight up.
How cold? Ice cubes rattle in his drink on the unromantically spare anthem "Thought It Was a Drought," in which he spits, "You know I ain't scared to lose you/They don't like it when you're telling the truth." The bluntness continues on "I Serve the Base," as he snarls/sings "Tried to make me a pop star, and they made a monster" to a track that could back the bloody finale of a Dario Argento horror flick.
Such soundscapes add to the brooding sadness of the album, full of discord, tortured beats, and tortured lyrics. With one guest (Drake), and with songs like "Rich $ex" that stress not sensual joy but lonely distance, this claustrophobic album is worth every sigh.
Hot tracks: "Thought It Was a Drought," "I Serve the Base."
-- A.D. AMOROSI
The Philadelphia Inquirer
B Emily West
All for You
Portrait
You may have heard Emily West; she had a country hit in 2010 with "Blue Sky," which featured Keith Urban.
More than likely though, you'll know her from the 2014 season of America's Got Talent. The singer with the big voice and impressive range thrilled audiences with her rendition of "Nights in White Satin." She finished second and landed a record deal, which leads us to All for You.
No one in today's pop scene sounds like Emily West. She's a real singer with range and depth; one who sings with power amid sometimes grand orchestrations and arrangements. If all this makes you think of Celine Dion, that's OK.
West has a clear voice, steady and studied. The vocals are a little too formal, but it can work in her favor, especially on Sia's "Chandelier." You can actually understand the words, for better or worse.
There is an undeniable passion in West's delivery of the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin," the album's most anticipated performance.
But where West looks especially promising is her songwriting. "Bitter" is set in the aftermath of a tumultuous breakup that left her disillusioned and desolate. Her haunting and haunted delivery captivates and unsettles. "Fallen" also has some fine moments.
Hot tracks:"Bitter," "Nights in White Satin," "True Colors," "Fallen."
-- ELLIS WIDNER
Style on 09/01/2015