Albums of the Week
Tyler, the Creator
“Wolf”
★★ 1/2
THE pseudo-rebellious persona put across by 22-year-old LA rapper-producer Tyler, the Creator — whose Odd Future ensemble includes breakout star Frank Ocean — can be so tiresome it drags down his third album. Too bad, because on “Wolf,” he crafts consistently engaging tracks that cover a lot of ground musically: the ruminative guitar that underpins “Answer,” the very ’60s synthesizers on “PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer,” a three-part extravaganza featuring Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab.
The slurs against women and gays here amount to a taunt, but smart tracks like “48” (in which a crack dealer apologizes to his community) give you hope he’ll get past it.
The Band Perry
“Pioneer”
★ 1/2
ON the one hand, it’s easy to admire the leap in sharpness on this Nashville sibling trio’s second album, in an uninvested, TV-competition-show type of way. On the other, singer Kimberly Perry is so overstated that the bigger sounding tunes go over the top, and not in an engaging way.
On “Done,” they try very hard to be Taylor Swift; “Night Gone Wasted” galumphs its way to a would-be drunken sing-along that’s undercut by the band’s utter lack of grit. The closer, “End of Time,” declares, “The sweet-tea wells ran dry,” but there’s no end to this album’s sugariness.
Downloads of the Week
Bonobo Feat. Erykah Badu
“Heaven for the Sinner”
★★★ 1/2
AS Bonobo, English producer-DJ Simon Green has made some of the lushest down-tempo music of the last few years, including his superb new album “The North Borders.” This track, a collaboration with Erykah Badu, brings out the best in both — he layers on taut, not syrupy strings; she delivers a vocal that’s both straightforward and jazzy.
Bombino
“Azamane Tiliade”
★★★
PRODUCED by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, this guitarist-singer from the Niger desert (born Omara Moctar) makes driving rock that happens to use slightly different scales (and a totally different language) to strikingly familiar ends. If you like Auerbach’s group, you’ll like this.
Rilo Kiley
“Let Me Back In”
★★
THIS beloved LA rock band split a few years ago, and the new odds-and-ends collection “RKives” offers a clue to their appeal — Jenny Lewis’ clear, ringing voice, a modestly appealing acoustic-guitar hook and smart lyrics about heading back home. It doesn’t stick, though; it’s easy to see why this was an outtake.
My Morning Jacket
“Leaving on a Jet Plane”
★
WASN’T one John Denver enough? Do we really need a tribute album? Yet that’s what Dave Matthews’ label ATO has provided with “The Song Is You,” which includes this version of “Jet Plane” by jam heroes MMJ that is even more limpid than Denver’s (or Peter, Paul and Mary’s). Thanks, universe.