Entertainment

‘Gossip’ grrrl rocks

THE PRETTY
RECKLESS

“Light Me Up”

3 STARS

Not since Saint Joan of Jett first grabbed a guitar has hard rock sounded this sexy. The Pretty Reckless, a quartet fronted by soon-to-be-18-year-old “Gossip Girl” star Taylor Momsen, is going to face a sea of skepticism, yet their debut record, “Light Me Up,” is remarkably good.

The blond actress/model, who co-wrote all the songs, is a talented rock singer rather than just a wannabe star. Her snarly, deep voice gives her a just-right swagger, and sounds natural against the pedal-to-the-metal headbanging of her band.

Melodically, Momsen is a bit Tori Amos, and vocally, Fiona Apple. It’s a great combo that gels on the fast rockers such as “My Medicine” and “Miss Nothing.” Momsen and company are less effective when she gently coos through a ballad such as “Nothing Left To Lose.”

FOO FIGHTERS

“Wasting Light”

3 1/2 STARS

After the Grammys, stadium concerts and superstar status, the Foo Fighters — Dave Grohl’s second act after Nirvana — is getting back to musical flannel with a record that totally honors grunge rock.

The band’s seventh record pays homage to the ’90s with 11 tracks demanding volume that’ll test your speakers and relationship with your neighbors. Grohl smartly adheres to the rules of grunge with the help of producer Butch Vig (who worked the knobs on Nirvana’s ’91 masterpiece “Nevermind”). Ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic strengthens the connection to the past on one of the disc’s best numbers, “I Should Have Known.” When Grohl wails the song’s title in the chorus, you can’t help but think of Kurt Cobain’s suicide 17 years ago.

“Wasting Light,” recorded in Grohl’s garage, is consistently excellent hard rock, with “Bridge Burning” standing out as a highlight of aggressive musicianship that has the heaviness to shake a garage or arena.

TV ON THE RADIO

“Nine Types of Light”

3 1/2 STARS

Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio — a band that loves exploring sounds, sometimes at the expense of melody — has delivered their catchiest, most radio-friendly record to date. With songs mostly about love and devotion, it’s practically pop-y. The arrangements seem smaller and more mellow than what fans might be used to. And the band shows the confidence to be simple, whether it’s in the hints of alt-country in the album opener, “Second Song,” or the heat and beats of the Prince-like tune “New Cannonball Blues.” “Nine Types of Light” shines brightest — or loudest — on “Repetition,” where the band gets their best Bowie on for a tune about a psycho neighbor.

ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION

“Paper Airplane”

3 STARS

Alison Krauss & Union Station get back to their new-grass roots on “Paper Airplane,” the follow-up album to 2004’s three-time Grammy winner “Lonely Runs Both Ways.” Krauss’ voice is gentle and fluid as she flexes between the top and bottom of her register. She is exquisite. All the Union Station boys backing

Krauss also sing, giving the songs a choral depth. Of the many solo turns, station master Jerry Douglas’ slide work on “My Love Follows You Where You Go” is

a standout that lends the music a dark, backwoods quality. If there’s one complaint, it’s that the album is ballad-heavy and striving for poignancy rather

than fast-paced pop appeal.

BOB DYLAN

“Bob Dylan in Concert — Brandeis University 1963”

4 STARS

Before the assassination of JFK, Vietnam War protests or The Beatles invading America, Bob Dylan was kicking around the folk circuit, making a name for himself. This recording of a small college show he played on May 10, 1963, is a snapshot of young Dylan just before he became a superstar. (The show was a couple of weeks before he released “The Freewheeelin’ Bob Dyan.”) It was discovered last year in the archives of Rolling Stone co-founder Ralph Gleason.

Cleaned up and set on CD, the Brandeis concert showcases Dylan with his voice filled with passion and his fist raised. The version of “Masters of War” here is worth the price of the CD alone. Also memorable are “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoia Blues” and “The Ballad of Hollis Brown.” This is a must record for Dylan enthusiasts.