Albums of the Week
Maroon 5
“V”
★½
It’s not hard to see that Maroon 5 is hunting for another “Moves Like Jagger.”
Their fifth album, “V,” is packed with contributions from the crème de la crème of modern pop songwriters such as Sia Furler, Nate Ruess and Ryan Tedder, but many of the hooks and choruses are slight and formulaic.
The cheesy teases of “Sugar” are too sickly to listen to more than once, and “Unkiss Me” is the sort of overly dramatic ballad that’s more likely to make you laugh than cry.
There are moments when the LA outfit hits a sweet spot; “In Your Pocket” is panicky with paranoia but catchy enough for radio, and Adam Levine’s helium voice helps the seductive, disco-funk of “Feelings” rise above the rest of the album.
“V” is inconsistent, but Maroon 5 has just enough hits-in-waiting to ensure they don’t fade into the background.
Downloads of the Week
Jeezy
“Seen it All” featuring Jay Z
★★★
The Atlanta rapper is in a reflective mood on his new album “Seen it All: The Autobiography,” in which he looks back on a colorful life (which is getting a few more shades thanks to Jeezy’s incarceration on gun charges last week).
The standout track remains this current single, which features Hova spitting out the kind of grippingly detailed rap that burns Jeezy on the Georgian’s own track and harks back to Jay Z’s younger, hungrier days in the Marcy projects.
Counting Crows
“Earthquake Driver”
★★
Even at the age of 50, Adam Duritz is still self-obsessed. “We turn ourselves into orphans and then spend our nights alone,” he ruminates on the opening track of their new album “Somewhere Under Wonderland.”
The weird thing is that he sings those inward-looking thoughts as though he were celebrating, rather than navel-gazing, as the band cooks up an energized cut of alt-rock behind him. It’s a mini-therapy session you can dance to.
Blonde Redhead
“Dripping”
★★½
The New York trio returns with their ninth album, “Barragán,” which offers plenty of the band’s typically swooning dream-pop.
But Blonde Redhead is always more engrossing when they offer a little brawn to go with the beauty, and on “Dripping,” they add a taut funk beat with stark Kraftwerk-style electronics to create a hypnotic standout moment.
Coves
“Beatings”
★★★
The moody atmospherics and dark, psychedelic melodies of Coves’ debut album “Soft Friday” make you think that they’re from the achingly cool areas of LA or New York, so it’s surprising to find that they actually hail from the less-than-hip climes of central England.
Geography isn’t an issue, because “Beatings” is a superb example of how this boy-girl duo can take the guitar snarl of the Velvet Underground or Jesus And Mary Chain, and make it into their own heartbroken sigh.