Usher and producer Diplo haven’t lost their touch on the compelling “Go Missin’ ”. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Albums of the Week
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
“Push the Sky Away”
★
With Nick Cave, it’s simple: If he’s rocking, it might be worth hearing. If he isn’t, it’s not.
On “Push the Sky Away,” his 15th album with longstanding band the Bad Seeds (plus two under the alias Grinderman), he isn’t, so it’s not. Unless, that is, you have a weakness for plain-awful lyrics such as “I’ve got a fetus on a leash” (“Jubilee Street”), or “I believe in 72 virgins on a chain” (“Mermaids”), or “Their legs wide to the world, like bibles open” (“Water’s Edge”), pompously sung at a snail’s pace over equally tepid music.
Various Artists
“Sons of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys”
★★
CO-PRODUCED by ex-“Saturday Night Live” musical director Hal Willner and actor Johnny Depp, this sequel to a 2006 CD of pirate songs and sea chanteys, performed by an all-star cast, is more admirable than enjoyable. There are some lively performances (Shane MacGowan, Ivan Neville, Patti Smith with Depp, Kenny Wollesen and the Himalayas Marching Band, Dr. John), some godawful crap (Iggy Pop twice, Ed Harcourt, Chuck E. Weiss, Broken Social Scene, Joseph Arthur, Foetus), and a whole bunch of good-for-you snoozes. At 2 1/2 hours long, it’s too much slog and not enough treasure.
Downloads of the Week
Fitz & the Tantrums
“Out of My League”
★★★ 1/2
THIS LA retro-R&B group is led by Michael Fitzgerald, who on 2010’s superb “Pickin’ Up the Pieces” eerily resembled Daryl Hall. But this teaser from a May follow-up is a Four Seasons-like stomper, with a big, piano-led arrangement that builds perfectly atop the cresting, driving melody.
Usher
“Go Missin’ ”
★★★
DROPPED as a free download on his SoundCloud page on Valentine’s Day (it’s since been switched to just a stream) Usher’s new collaboration with super-producer Diplo is a kind of next chapter after last year’s magnificently cyborg-like ballad “Climax.” The combination is still eerie and compelling at a faster tempo.
The-Dream Feat. Fabolous
“Slow It Down”
★★★
TIRED of blaring Euro-synths? So is The-Dream (the songwriter-producer behind Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” among others): “Enough with the . . . dance songs — you’ve got to slow it down,” he implores on the frisky new single from his upcoming album, “Fourplay.” Better yet, his rolling beats provide an alternative.
Tyler, the Creator
“Domo 23”
★★
DENYING he’s homo-phobic and mocking his rivals over minimalist beats and fizzing synths, LA’s Tyler, the Creator advances his second album, April’s “Wolf,” with this belligerent track. Two-thirds of the way through, the music shifts abruptly to a chintzier track, with Tyler deliberately simplifying his flow, without saying anything particularly memorable.
Atlas Genius
“Trojans”
★★
NOW that Fun. has made the charts safe again for catchy little guitar-led numbers, we’re in for a new version of the mid-’90s alt-rock gold rush. This Australian duo (whose debut album is “When It Was Now”) is a perfect example: peppy, nonsensical (“Your Trojans in my head,” goes the chorus), forgettable.