B Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
XL
Radiohead is a band to be grappled with rather than apprehended. While those who don't enjoy the elliptical ebb and flow of Thom Yorke's beautifully sung obscurist cliches might latch onto the oddly comforting glimmer of Johnny Marr's soundscapes, there's always at least a part of the listener that wonders if it's genuinely worth bothering with.
But even so, the seriousness of purpose and the sheer craftsmanship argue for a powerful band in repose, a sleeping -- or at least sleepy -- giant that might at any moment be roused to violence. In short, they're impressive, even when you suspect they're just mulling their next move. A few of these tunes have been around for awhile -- some of the lyrics on the opener, "Burn the Witch," can be found inside the jacket of their 2003 album Hail to the Thief; they've been doing versions of "True Love Waits" in concert for more than 20 years.
So maybe the way to view this album is as a kind of narcotized "Odds and Sods" package, a collection of electro-lullabies perhaps precursing the real work about to begin? I know, I don't quite get it, hard as I try. I still want songs that do more than saw through the atmosphere, ironically hanging platitudes in the sour air. As a sonic machine, Radiohead remains an engine with lots of untapped potential, but they're 25 years in, and still teasing.
Hot tracks: "Identikik," "Burn the Witch" (seek out the video)
-- PHILIP MARTIN
B+ Gregory Porter
Take Me to the Alley
Blue Note
If the name doesn't ring a bell, you may have heard jazz singer Gregory Porter on British electronic band Disclosure's 2014 hit "Holding On," which the band co-wrote with Porter. One thing for certain: once you've heard him, you won't forget his passionate, rich and soulful baritone.
One of modern jazz's best acts, Porter won a best jazz vocal album Grammy award for his fine 2013 million-selling album, Liquid Spirit.
What sets him apart -- other than a stunning voice -- is the quality of his songwriting. Porter's latest album is sophisticated and soulful, and presents the complexities of the verities of love with heart and intelligence, the same approach he takes on socially conscious material.
"Holding On" gets a killer jazz/soul take here, with Porter's simmering organic vocal. There is a wonderful duet with Lalah Hathaway on "Insanity" that improves on his solo version (also on this album). The title song is spiritual and compassionate, as he sings "They will be surprised/when they hear him say/Take me to the alley/take me to the afflicted ones." The striking "French African Queen" has Afropop touches, while "Fan the Flames" flirts with bebop.
Porter gets great support from singer Alicia Olatuja and a killer group of musicians.
Hot tracks: "Insanity," the tender and thoughtful "Consequence of Love," "French African Queen"
-- ELLIS WIDNER
B Corinne Bailey Rae
The Heart Speaks in Whispers
Capitol
The Heart Speaks in Whispers, the third album from Britain's Corinne Bailey Rae, doesn't boast a single as immediately catchy as "Put Your Records On" from her 2006 debut, but it's a richer, more sophisticated album. It's more optimistic than 2010's The Sea, which followed the sudden death of her first husband, and it continues that album's blend of acoustic soul ballads and more extroverted R&B tracks.
Rae's warm voice doesn't speak in whispers, but it's especially inviting when restrained. The slinky "Do You Ever Think of Me?" and the stately "Hey, I Won't Break Your Heart" luxuriate in the spaces between the notes. "Green Aphrodisiac" begins by echoing Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming" (a song Rae has covered) before kicking it up a notch with layers of cooing backing vocals (in part courtesy of Esperanza Spalding).
She's a bit less persuasive when songs such as "Horse Print Dress" and "Tell Me" build on programmed rhythms and loops or when "Do You Ever Think of Me?" strives to become an anthem. As the close-mic clarity of the closing lullaby, "Night," demonstrates, Rae's voice doesn't need any distractions.
Hot tracks: "Do You Ever Think of Me?" "Green Aphrodisiac," "Night"
-- STEVE KLINGE,
The Philadelphia Inquirer
A- Mary Chapin Carpenter
The Things That We Are Made Of
Lambent Light/Thirty Tigers
Mary Chapin Carpenter has tried to do mainstream country here and there, as with the too-catchy but Grammy-winning "Shut Up and Kiss Me," but she has always been better when she wasn't straining for a hit.
On her latest, the five-time Grammy winner has an evocative collection of songs backed by a soothing guitar-piano ensemble with occasional violin touches.
Carpenter's finest work could best be described as polite and unobtrusive, but capable of drawing listeners in with an unexpectedly poignant turn of phrase. She's still looking for emotional connections.
"I'm staring down the great big lonesome," she sings wistfully on "Something Tamed Something Wild." "As I'm listening for the dwindling of time."
The album is produced by Dave Cobb, whose work with Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton and others has brought some dignity back to the airwaves in recent years. The elegant production lends gravity to her perspective as an artist who is further along in her career.
Hot tracks: "Something Tamed Something Wild," the reflective "The Middle Ages"
-- SCOTT STROUD,
The Associated Press
Style on 05/24/2016