Entertainment

She joins the UK soul club

VV BROWN. “Travelling Like the Light.” ****

* The retro-soul movement in the UK that propelled Miss Rehab — Amy Winehouse — and squeaky-clean Duffy up the charts finds a new player with sassy, 25-year-old VV Brown.

Brown’s eclectic US debut sometimes shimmies like a Phil Spector girl group and other times shakes with vintage rock and soul arrangements. Refreshingly different from the Britneys and the Pinks of the music world, Brown is willing to risk hipness for nostalgia.

The track “Crying Blood” recalls when Dion was king of New York and doo-wop vocals were blended seamlessly with electric guitars and drums. Another tune, “L.O.V.E.,” goes back all the way to jitterbug/swing. Now that’s retro!

GALACTIC. “Ya-Ka-May.” ***

* Not that Crescent City funksters Galactic need any boost, but all things New Orleans just got a little cooler after the Saints won the Super Bowl. Galactic’s latest collection of second-line stomps has an out-of-this-world blending of classic jazz horns, marching drums and hip-hop vocals.

“Ya-Ka-May” has a very young, propulsive vibe, but it also honors the Big Easy’s more traditional sounds by including such guest artists as Allen Toussaint, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Irma Thomas. In the 15 tracks, there’s enough funk, jazz, R&B, soul and rock in the gumbo to make Dr. John’s head spin. Yet the common thread that runs through the music is Galactic’s ability to make tunes — even slow ones like “Liquor Pang” — into a Mardi Gras rave.

SADE. “Soldier of Love.” **½

* Sade is one singer who isn’t swayed by pop music fads. The sophisticated jazz-soul that made her “Smooth Operator” a global hit 15 years ago is still intact. The “Soldier of Love” title track has a touch of re-invention, with its hard edge of power-bass thumping and the tattoo of military drums. The other nine songs on the album ­— including the standout “Baby Father” — will soothe her longtime fans with melodies that stick closely to the singer’s smooth-groove formula.

Despite some sappy lyrics, the record is saved by Sade’s pure and downright beautiful voice.