Albums of the Week
Shakira
“Shakira”
★★★
You’d have to be a Scrooge to hate Shakira — she’s one of the most plainly likable pop stars around, comfortable in her skin and unafraid to try new things. On her 10th album, that means by-the-numbers electro-dance (“Dare”), but she brings life even to that dead-end style. The primary rhythmic pulse on “Shakira,” though, is reggae — there’s dubbed-out ska on “Cut Me Deep,” the verses of “Can’t Remember To Forget You” (with Rihanna) sound like early Police, and “You Don’t Care About Me” brings in some echoing surf guitar. She sounds like she’s having fun with all of it.
Johnny Cash
“Out Among the Stars”
★★★
Johnny Cash made a lot of so-so albums as well as classics, so there was reason to figure this previously unissued album from 1984 (with a couple of tracks from 1981, and some additional instrumentation) might be lame. But it’s laid-back and entertaining, a nice reminder, after all those somber Rick Rubin albums, of Cash’s goofy good humor: “If I Told You Who It Was” and “Baby Ride Easy” (a duet with June Carter Cash) are high-spirited and jokey, offsetting serious stuff like “I Came To Believe” and “She Used To Love Me a Lot.” Nostalgia for ’80s Johnny — it’s about time.
Downloads of the Week
Wu-Tang Clan feat. Nathaniel
“Keep Watch”
★★½
There are worse ways for Wu-Tang Clan, the model of the sprawling hip-hop supergroup, to declare their return to recording — “Keep Watch” is from “A Better Tomorrow,” the Staten Island crew’s first album since 2007. But the dusty piano and female vocal loop, and the no-BS rhymes, are a tad underwhelming.
Warning: Graphic content
Built to Spill
“Jokerman”
★★
With terrible Dylan obscurities constantly exhumed and sold to gullible kids as “lost classics,” the various-artists tribute “Bob Dylan in the ’80s” was inevitable. Hats off to his worst decade on record! Built to Spill’s fabulous guitar crunch does what it can, but the tedious song defeats them.
The Hold Steady
“I Hope This Whole Thing Didn’t Frighten You”
★★½
Craig Finn, singer-songwriter of Brooklyn rockers the Hold Steady, has always been a words guy — you heard them before anything. On this track from the band’s sixth album, “Teeth Dreams,” it’s the opposite — a messy, vigorous rocker where the words can be heard but aren’t really the point.
F–ked Up
“Paper the House”
★★★
On this preview from the June album “Glass Boys,” the Toronto hardcore punk group still sounds like a steamroller moving deliberately toward wherever you happen to be standing. Singer Damian Abraham roars like he accidentally touched the stove, a simple ascending guitar riff pushing all the way to the end.
Sia
“Chandelier”
★½
Australian singer-songwriter Sia has written hits for Rihanna, Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Beyoncé, but she’s only been a hit-maker as a featured singer on someone else’s track. This single from her summer-marked album should change that, which is too bad — that ridiculous whooping vocal refrain is as annoying as it is catchy: very.
Tune-Yards
“Water Fountain”
★★★
Oakland’s Merrill Garbus, a k a tUnE-yArDs, makes joyous, slightly off-kilter tunes that draw heavily from African music. This arresting track from June’s “Nikki Nack” has giant vocal harmonies, a huge bass line and melodic surprises around every corner. It takes some getting used to, but eventually every second delights.