Mariah Carey – “Me. I Am Mariah… the Elusive Chanteuse”

(Photo Credit: NY Daily News)

Grade: B-

Key Tracks: “You’re Mine (Eternal)” “Money ($ * / …)

Mariah Carey has worked herself into an interesting point in her career – she’s already heralded as one of the most successful and talented pop singers, ever. So there’s a few directions she could go – she could sit back and enjoy all of the reaped benefits, or she could keep putting out albums that challenge other singers to get to her level. She doesn’t need to do anything too ambitious or original, especially as a pop/R&B singer. She’s just keeping active and adding more notches to her career. And that’s exactly what her fourteenth album is – it’s a collection of personal and reflective songs that feel right at home with her other works.

Of course the most important thing to analyze on any Carey album is her voice, even though it never falters. Carey, famously, has a five octave vocal range, which is almost inhuman. There are times on this album where, had I been playing the songs louder, her vocals would’ve upset the neighborhood dogs. Carey’s voice is as strong as it’s ever been, like on “Camouflage,” where different octaves are layered over each other until she becomes her own back-up singer. And on “You’re Mine (Eternal),” where her voice gets looped at the closing, into a slightly haunting drone. All throughout, her voice remains smooth and high flying, hitting extreme highs sparingly (to allow those moments to shine), and sounding typically relaxed and polished through every song.

There’s four effective guest spots on the album, all of which add some energy at the right times. “Dedicated” is saved from being too murky by an all too brief appearance from greatest rapper of all-time Nas, and the follow-up, “#Beautiful,” is helped by Miguel. Wale anchors “You Don’t Know What to Do” surprisingly well, and adds some much needed energy after a number of midtempo songs. And towards the album’s end, Fabolous delivers a strong spot on the extremely unfortunately titled “Money ($ * / …)” (I have no idea how to pronounce that title). For the most part, the guest spots are spread out, so they can provide some kicks throughout, and so it doesn’t get too bogged down at any point.

The album does have it’s faults, most of which lie more in the structure and the make-up of the album rather than in the songs themselves. As mentioned, there’s that terrible song title, which should be something to overlook, but I can’t get over it. And there’s the title: “Me. I Am Mariah… the Elusive Chanteuse.” The title track and last song is actually spoken word, with Mariah explaining what it means. “Me. I Am Mariah” is a self-portrait she drew when she was a child, that shows up on the album’s back cover, and “The Elusive Chanteuse” is the most recent of many nicknames she’s been given. They both have significance, and they both make excellent titles, but put them together and you have what will be a $2000 Jeopardy! question someday. (Also, I’m glad Carey takes time to explain the title on a spoken word track and I wish there was a way for it to fit less awkwardly into the album). The album’s 62 minutes and 15 tracks is hefty, too, especially considering she delayed the release when some early songs didn’t catch on with the public. There’s a lot of great tracks here, but there’s some dead weight, too, and it should’ve been cut. It’s daunting to the point where it’s far too overlong.

Structural issues aside, it’s great to see Carey still be herself. And there’s a lot of her on this album – its lyrics reflect back on the highs and lows of her life thus far. It’s personal and open, sometimes fun and sometimes contemplative. There’s a George Michael cover, and an ode to Reverend James Cleveland in the gospel choir finale “Heavenly (No Ways Tired / Can’t Give Up Now).” “Me. I Am Mariah” isn’t a wholly fulfilling album, but it succeeds with it’s diversity, flowing through different genres and emotions, while never straying too far away from a consistent pop/R&B sound. Carey shows she’s still as powerful as she was in 1991. She can belt like no one else, and she’s hit a point where she can do whatever she wants. And she’s very comfortable with that.

-By Andrew McNally

Marc Maron – “Thinky Pain”

 

Grade: A-

Key Bits: “Bill Hicks Was a Poet” “Israel”

It’s very possible that nothing has ever sounded more ‘Maron’ than the beginning of his 2013 special “Thinky Pain,” now available on audio. He starts by wrapping up a podcast with Tom Scharpling and walking out on stage to tell a story about crazy Bill Hicks was, and then himself admitting he didn’t prepare anything for the night. Maron didn’t prepare any set or anything for the special – and it comes off in the most Maron way possible – 50% confidence, 50% apathy. He starts the Bill Hicks story with an oral history of the venue, killing time before figuring out where to start (like an “Odyssey” bard recounting a name). What follows is exactly what you’d expect from Maron – self-pity, unwarranted anger, and the thin line between insensitivity and offensiveness.

Most of “Thinky Pain” is personal stories. Maron recounts how missing a pop-out in baseball changed his life, and how he overcame hypochondria, and his trip to Israel with his Jewish wife, among many others. Since this special was unscripted, it reassures us that Maron really is the always-slightly-upset man behind the comedy. He even says at the beginning that he might end up not telling jokes but working through some things. Even though he does end up working through things, it’s riotously funny throughout.

Maron is usually at his funniest when he’s talking about himself, self-deprecating or not. He covers his Jewish upbringing and now-aversion to religion in “Born a Jew” and “I’m Not an Atheist” and how that translated a religious vacation with his wife in “Israel.” He talks about how the religious vacation was basically just looking at rubble of buildings that were and were not Jewish. He discusses his druggy past and how he doesn’t trust people who can’t let drugs take them over for a few years on “Drug Wisdom,” and he acts out what his first time trying out autoerotic asphyxiation would probably be like on “Autoerotic Asphyxiation.” Maron switches from angry to self-involved to reluctant on a dime, and occasionally comes off as a ranting man who just happens to be funny.

The only real fault of the special is that, since it’s all off-hand and unprepared, Maron’s stories get a little tired towards the end. He ends with bits on roosters, a vacation to Kauai and having a ‘porn brain’ that are funny, but not as funny as the stuff at the special’s midpoint. “Thinky Pain” ends up coming off as a little top- and middle-heavy, going on maybe a little longer than it needs to. But then again, he has a lot of stuff to work out.

With his now very successful WTF podcast, and an IFC show in it’s second season, Maron picked a very good time to drop a new special. “Thinky Pain” helps Maron milk this opportunity without overworking it. And it establishes Maron as someone who is unfazed and unchanged by a surge in popularity. In fact, in five to ten years, we can probably look forward to a special about all of the pratfalls of success. The special’s title even comes from understanding the mental turmoil he’ll go through after missing that routine fly ball when he was a kid. Maron hasn’t changed a bit, and “Thinky Pain” is just as angry, whiny and honest as Maron’s ever been.

If you like this, try: It seems like such a softball pitch to compare a comedian to Louis CK, but Maron’s comedy has aligned with CK’s for years, even if the two have a rocky past together (or at least as documented on Louie). Maron is every bit as self-deprecating, angry, perverse and in control as CK.

-By Andrew McNally

Owen Pallett – “In Conflict”

(Photo Credit: alpentine.com)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “I Am Not Afraid” “The Riverbed”

Although quick enough to be mistaken for an interlude, my favorite song off of Owen Pallett’s 2010 album “Heartland” is “Flare Gun.” The song, reflective of the album as a whole, sounds ripped out of a carnival. It’s got nearly a full orchestra behind it, and an almost sickeningly catchy rhythm. The song, and the album, is pop music, for sure. But it’s a puzzle. Pallett’s music has always been layered and difficult to grasp, and it’s what makes him the talented force he is today. “In Conflict” represents a drastic departure from “Heartland,” looking a whole new direction, with equally great results.

Pallett is, occasionally, described as “baroque pop.” It’s fair to say this isn’t really a popular genre of music today, and indeed, a Wikipedia search of the genre lists a number of very famous, very long-gone bands (Beach Boys, Moody Blues, and, confoundingly, the Beatles). But Pallett’s use of a wide number of instruments sets him aside from other alt-pop acts of today. On “Heartland,” he used those instruments to create a whole universe that he didn’t let the listener into. It’s a fun album, on the surface, and one whose storied lyrics gift many re-listens. But on “In Conflict,” his fourth solo album, he lets the listener come inside the puzzle and see the man inside. And he manages to do this without sacrificing any of the ambition.

The immediate thing to notice on “In Conflict” is a notable turn towards darkness; this album is gloomy, rarely offering anything promising. While “Heartland” sounded like a cryptic carnival, “In Conflict” resembles the longest night of the year – sure, things will get better, and there’s good things happening, but it isn’t enough. The album’s first song, “I Am Not Afraid,” mixes calming piano over industrial beats, starting off a bit unsettling. There’s fewer instruments, but they’re just as effective. Pallett goes for strings and synth rhythms to convey some convoluted moods. “On a Path” and “The Passions,” for example, use string sections to hit melodic, ballad highs. “Song For Five & Six” and “The Sky Behind the Flag,” meanwhile, benefit from their use of synth rhythms and space-y moods to add a bit of uncertainty to the mix.

The lyrics on “In Conflict” really help to open the album up to the man behind the music. Early on the album, he sings about growing up without a heart. Later, on “The Passions,” he invites the listener into the bedroom with him, solely as a viewer. “In Conflict,” on it’s most immediate level, shows Pallett as a human that never existed on “Heartland.” It’s dark, sure, but what’s to be expected of a man who can pull off baroque pop in 2014?

It’s also worth noting that, to go along with the album’s theme of pulling away the curtain and revealing the wizard, Pallett offers more vocally. He really shines on “On a Path,” but his voice is more present throughout than it was before. Whether he’s delivering some sort of devastating lyrics, or merely singing pitches – he’s more apparent on this album, more upfront and more available. His vocals add a personal force throughout; stronger and more frequent.

“In Conflict” isn’t the album for people looking for something fun. Its title sums it up pretty well – there’s a lot of conflicting emotions going on here. Ballads are interspersed with forceful tracks. It’s all personal, and ambitious, but humanly so. If “Heartland” was a puzzle the listener could never crack, “In Conflict” is one where Pallett has himself given up and left it to the listener to complete. It’s moodier and more contemplative, with effective music to go alongside. On “In Conflict,” Pallett fully proves himself as an ambitious alt-pop force who can’t be reckoned with, even if he wants to be.

If you like this, try: I’ve never shied away from a chance to promote Dirty Projectors’ last full-length, “Swing Lo Magellan.” It’s in a similar vain or something, just listen to both.

-By Andrew McNally

Cheap Girls – “Famous Graves”

(Photo Credit: punknews)

Grade: B-

Key Tracks: “Slow Nod” “Knock Me Down”

As with any Cheap Girls’ record, the main fault of “Famous Graves” is also it’s biggest strength. The band has never, ever left it’s comfort zone, and have left their music in this frustrating void where the listener knows what to expect and is delighted with another similar record, until it inevitably becomes tedious by the halfway point. “Famous Graves” is no different. It starts strong, but it has a middle that sags from too many similar sounding songs.

Part of Cheap Girls’ original act was not to do anything revolutionary, merely to add their own spin onto fuzzy indie/pop-punk (think a more emotional version of Weezer’s Blue album). By sticking so closely to the formula, it reinforces their aim to make consistent and appealing music. But that works a little too well in their favor. “Slow Nod” opens the album, a typically high-volume, medium-speed song with plenty of fuzz and tough to interpret vocals. It’s the band’s staple sound, and songs like “Slow Nod” prove they can still do it well, and with plenty of energy.

The second track, “Short Cut Days,” has a catchy vocal rhythm and excels on a sound that’s intentionally condensed in the studio, with a garage feel – but also sounds like it could tear the walls down live. Cheap Girls, at their best, manage to make both sounds simultaneously. The album’s third song and lead single, “Knock Me Down,” is a more personal song about overwhelming pain felt after surgery, and combines strong vocals, strong lyrics and energetic music, the album’s best package.

After that, though, there’s a long string of songs that do nothing to differentiate themselves from each other. While they’re inherently enjoyable, they all follow the same formula. They’re almost all in the three-to-four minute range and they feel like time that’s being killed off until the album’s strong finale. Having weak and formulaic tracks is almost unavoidable, but five of the eleven songs feel like underdeveloped cuts they’re burning off. A bulk of the album, roughly half of it, falls victim to serious repetition.

The album does have a strong finale, though. “Thought Senseless” stretches (barely) over four minutes, and is a little more developed than a typical Cheap Girls song. “Turns” is a pseudo-ballad, one that has many of the characteristics of one, except that it isn’t a soft song, which makes for an interesting listen. And bonus track “7-8 Years” is more vocally forceful than any of the album’s other songs. The mix of acoustic and electric allow the vocals to come through more clearly, and it ends up adding an element to it.

At their core, Cheap Girls are an enjoyable band. They’re both incredibly simple and subtly complex. They’ve always blended fuzz and pop, in a 90’s throwback. Their sound translates well live, and their albums can accompany any real mood or season. “Famous Graves” just sounds too repetitive, and it could easily be shuffled in and lost amongst their past albums. Cheap Girls aren’t going to win any new fans over with this album, they’re just going to have a few more great songs for fans to eat up, and some more to pass on by.

-If you like this, try: Lemuria’s semi-classic 2008 album, “Get Better.” They have a constant sound much like Cheap Girls (and the two have recorded together).

-By Andrew McNally

The Black Keys – “Turn Blue”

(Photo Credit: chimes.biola.edu)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Weight of Love” “Bullet in the Brain”

The Black Keys either like to take corners, or listen to criticism. Their last two albums – “Brothers” and “El Camino” – were distinctly different from what they’d done previously, and both suffered from it. “Brothers” had some quality songs, but it was too long and stuffed with slower tracks. After they found it difficult to play them live, they wrote more upbeat songs for “El Camino,” but they were so focused on the quality that it didn’t seem like they enjoying themselves. “Turn Blue,” however, sees the duo having fun again, and balancing loose and polished.

The first track on “Turn Blue,” called “Weight of Love,” is just ten seconds shy of hitting the seven minute mark. This is pretty different for band who is known for a quick and heavy blues sound. (Look through the Keys prior albums, it’s rare to find a song over five minutes). But it sets the tone of the album. The song is sleepy and a little psychedelic, a drastic departure from the old Keys. It isn’t fast, it’s much more of an extended way to open an album. But Dan Auerbach sure sounds like he’s having fun. The song, as do a few others later, has a distinct classic rock feel to it. Though always resembling garage bands of the 60′s, the Keys have usually stayed away from a classic rock sound. But it gets embraced on “Turn Blue,” and it’s a surprisingly welcome shift. Even the album’s hypnotic cover shows an embrace of a more suspended sound.

The album also benefits from having Danger Mouse on board, producing. He worked on “El Camino,” too, but the relationship between him and the band is more equal. Though still a duo, the band has added distinct bass parts that make a much groovier sound. It’s most evident on the title track and the hit “Fever,” but it adds a fun element throughout.

The album’s only real fault is a handful of songs that still sound a little too prepared. “Year in Review” sounds a little too strained, a little too rehearsed. “It’s Up to You Now,” meanwhile, feels so loose it almost sounds improvised. It’s also possibly the album’s heaviest track, with a booming drum intro. It’s very enjoyable, reminiscent of early Black Keys. They recapture a little of their earlier sound in some of the other heavier songs, like “Bullet in the Brain.” While “Tighten Up” and “Lonely Boy” were heavy in their own right, they felt more directed towards songwriting. The guitar fuzz and the loud, crushing drumming are more ambitious here, less constrained to an album format.

“Turn Blue” has many things working for it. It’s more energetic than “Brothers,” it’s more open than “El Camino,” and it’s just as wide and heavy as “Attack & Release.” A welcome groove makes the album more fun than what we’re used to, without sacrificing any of the volume. And on songs like “Weight of Love” and closer “Gotta Get Away,” it’s easy to tell the band is having fun with the record. “Turn Blue” doesn’t quite stand up to “Attack & Release” and “Thickfreakness,” but it is definitely one of the band’s better records.

If you like this, try: Given that most of the bands that resemble the Black Keys are equally famous, I’ll recommend another fuzzy, bluesy duo – The Creeping Ivies.

-By Andrew McNally

Dunas – “Boas-Vindas”

Boas-VindasGrade: A-

Key Track: “Em Algum Lugar Dentro de Nos”

Dunas, a name that translates to “those sand dunes” from Portuguese, is a Brazilian-based band featuring the ambitiously experimental Francois Veenstra. The band, normally a Portuguese-singing, straightforward band, ventured way out during a contemplative period and instead recorded an improvised, instrumental, ambient EP. “Boas-Vindas” is four tracks and roughly thirty-three minutes of an improvised story.

The album’s opener, “Em Algum Lugar Dentro de Nos,” is an extremely peaceful work. It’s very ambient, and centered around an echo-y guitar and various nature sounds. The song, especially it’s first half, gives an aura of satisfaction and sounds like enjoying a nice spring day falling in tune with nature. Much of it sounds like it’s recorded from within a cave, with it’s swooping, almost wind-like rhythms.

Since it’s improvised, it’s tough to know if Dunas had planned for this EP to have a real storyline, but it seems to have a narrative of descent. If “Em Algum Lugar Dentro de Nos” is peaceful and feels like laying on the forest floor, watching the sky, “Por Favor, Por Favor” feels like becoming too engulfed. The song’s airy and faux-futuristic rhythms might seem like falling asleep comfortably on the forest floor, but is more akin to letting yourself get overtaken by the nature around you. It’s also a relatively peaceful song, and the lightest on the EP, but it slowly seeps into one that isn’t, through the sound of things getting disconnected at the end.

“Boas-Vindas” feels like a descent into a gritty underworld. Its immediately abrasive, back-and-forth dissonant piano rhythms are a stark difference from the first two tracks. The song feels like a bad dream; or seeing the ugly side of nature. If it starts in a cave, it ends deeper down, in darkness. The song’s title roughly translates to “hearty welcome,” and that’s what it resembles – an unwelcoming welcome. Other synth rhythms pile onto the early ones, and play until the noise settles into something less intense but no less loud – as you get more accustomed to it. The short outro, “Motion Picture Soundtrack,” follows in the previous song’s volume and drone-like tone.

The EP all flows together, as if it were one long song. This helps to enhance whatever sort of increasingly dark narrative hides behind the ambient music. The EP slowly goes from peaceful to forceful, and does both very well, especially when you factor in the improvisation. “Em Algum Lugar Dentro de Nos” is engagingly warm, and it makes the slow descent into noise all the more powerful. It is best appreciated with headphones on, to take in the full ambient effect. “Boas-Vindas” is a strong and weighty ambient release, so let it wash over you.

The band has produced a set of videos to accompany the EP’s lengthy tracks. You can watch the video for “Em Algum Lugar Dentro de Nos”

-By Andrew McNally

The Boston Boys – “Idea of Love”

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Between You and Me” “Become Like One”

The Boston Boys, a folk-heavy roots band now decidedly living in Brooklyn, have always relied on their diverse sound as their strongest quality. I wrote about “Keep You Satisfied,” their last EP, that the guys were able blend folk, rock, country and americana elements into a sound that’s both predictably shiny and refreshingly original. “Idea of Love,” their third EP, keeps this blend just as strong.

The opening song, the aptly titled “The Beginning,” sets the mood for the EP. The band doesn’t start with a bang, instead opening with a slow and string-heavy track that’s more psychedelic than it is folk. It’s the EP’s most interesting song and, although it ultimately doesn’t really resemble the five songs that follow it, it does set the tone the band is looking for – there’s going to be a lot of little surprises. From there they jump into “Between You and Me,” a much more traditional country-folk song. It’s rhythmic, has a medium tempo and some pleasant vocal harmonies. It’s more what you’d expect from a band like the Boston Boys; it sounds conventional, but it doesn’t fit under the monikers of ‘folk’ or ‘country,’ instead landing in their own little niche in between.

“Times Like These” is more stripped-down, largely just vocals and guitar, a decidedly folksy move. And as soon as the mood calms for it, the more fun and drum-heavy “Become Like One” starts. The transition between these two songs works well, as they show the band at their calmest and highest points, respectively. “Become Like One” really is a fun track, breaking out of folk to incorporate some standard rock elements (that stay true through the next song, as well). Final track “You Don’t Need Me” is a slow, folk-rock type ballad, a solemn way to end the EP.

As with “Keep You Satisfied,” the band’s diversity in the music makes for a fun listen. The lyrics might sometimes get drowned out because of it, but their constant mixing of genres can make for a unique listen, and helps each song on the EP separate itself from the others. The band has a distinctly American sound, like their music should be played on a front porch in a small town on a warm summer day. They take the best parts of American genres – folk, country, bluegrass and americana – add a little rock from time to time, and produce a sound that’s both wholly original and lovingly American. It’s surely no surprise that the Boston Boys are named after an American city, because their music serves to optimistically celebrate a whole range of American heritages.

The EP is officially released on Tuesday, May 20th.

-By Andrew McNally

Porch Cat – “Split” (w/JFKFC)

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: A-

Key Track: “Be Okay”

Porch Cat, recording name of Chan Benicki, flows some current folk-punk icon influence into a unique, americana-based folk sound. On the new release, a split with JFKFC, Benicki and a rounded line-up of backing musicians make a beautiful blend of folk with hints of both elegance and existentialism. It has the charactericstics of folk – it’s all acoustic, a full sound, but one with a running and sometimes indescribable punk influence.

On the album’s first song, “Ballad for Winter,” Bernicki sings “Addicted to a substance / Delusion and distress / Addicted to the way / The heart beats in my chest.” The lyrics throughout the four songs are poetic and often vaguely distressful, dealing with physical and mental health, sleep, and making it through tough times. “Be Okay” ends with the repeated and reluctantly enthusiastic chant of “we’ll be okay,” before transitioning into “Living Art” and singing about trying not to sleep forever. “Belly Full of Fire” almost sounds like an Irish drinking song, with a drinking song vocal rhythm and a chorus about a whiskey-fueled belly of fire. It’s just as forcefully optimistic as “Be Okay,” a kind of optimism that doesn’t sound certain. The EP’s lyrics are hesitantly personal. They reflect what much of folk-punk has become – the sound of someone picking up a guitar and singing about what they know.

What doesn’t reflect that, though, is the music of the EP. Where folk-punk bands that emulate this nonchalant sound often have music that’s nothing more than a guitar attack, Benicki and the backing musicians add rhythms and a larger range of instruments. Besides vocals and guitar, Benicki is credited with accordion and – unexpected surprise – singing saw. Benicki is joined by Alex Fairweather on guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, mandolin, and vocals, Jordan Hamilton on banjo, bass and mouth harp, and Naomi Gibson on fiddle and vocals (along with some others on secret vocals, secret meows, and ‘tea making’). With a wide variety of instruments, they’re able to create more developed songs and a deeper sound than most folk groups. “Belly Full of Fire” gets further reinforcement as an Irish drinking song with use of a mandolin and fiddle. The band sounds the most full at the end of “Be Okay,” with group vocals, drums and a bunch of acoustic strumming. Porch Cat is a more musically folk group, a little refreshing to hear today.

So although it’s easy to compare Porch Cat to a more traditional folk-punk band, they really have a stronger indie-folk sound, masquerading as folk-punk. They have a more complete and balanced sound, one with rhythmic and vocal harmonies and a wider range of instruments. And Bernicki’s vocals are strong throughout, some sweet-sounding singer-songwriter vocals marked with the more defeated lyrics. The four songs here are a complete and successful package, emotional yet pleasant, with a full and unassuming folk background.

The four tracks are available for streaming and download as part of a split with JFKFC, a more directly folk-punk band that’s also quite worthy of your time. It can be found here.

-By Andrew McNally

Lily Allen – “Sheezus”

(Photo Credit: http://www.caesarlivenloud.com)

Grade: C+

Key Tracks: “URL Badman” “Hard Out Here”

Months before Lily Allen’s third album even came out, it had already created some controversy. Her music video for lead single “Hard Out Here” was criticized for it’s use of black dancers as props, failing to convey the song’s satire against the use of people of color in things like music videos. No one can really know for sure if Allen was sincerely aiming for satire or just going for controversy – and that’s always been her style. The brilliantly named “Sheezus,” at it’s best, pries on a lack of subtlety. It gets just as direct as Lily Allen’s first two albums, but it doesn’t always stick.

After the release of her second album, “It’s Not Me, It’s You” in 2009, Allen announced her unexpected retirement. On “Sheezus,” her comeback album, she directly addresses it twice, in two of the best songs – “Sheezus,” a boastful song about her comeback and the strength of female pop singers right now in general, and “Life For Me,” a surprisingly honest song about transitioning into a more normal life after having a child. Otherwise, it’s a lot like she was never gone. Feminism, sex, loneliness and awful men are all covered here. And like before, traditional pop songs are unpredictably peppered amongst fun ones. The mixing doesn’t work as well this time, with some transitions not really fitting and the balance tipping too far into the traditional side.

“Sheezus” suffers from this imbalance. The album’s bookends – “Sheezus” and “Hard Out Here” are big, calls to arms with witty lyrics and deep implications. But they feel like they don’t quite fit, the result being trying to start controversy just for the sake of controversy. Allen’s music has seen it’s share of controversy in the past, but it’s always had a point, and that point isn’t as defined on this album. Still, Allen’s wit and directness occasionally shine through. “L8 CMMR,” about her husband, is about exactly what you’d expect. And “URL Badman” takes on the worst kinds of internet men – “When I’m a big boy / I’m gonna write for Vice” and “I don’t like girls much / They condescend me / Unless of course / They wanna play with my willy.” Songs like these show that Allen hasn’t lost her touch at all.

The album has more pop-based music than before. Her first two albums benefited from various instruments, but it’s largely conventional here. “Take My Place” has a chilling electro-rhythm, and “As Long As I Got You” is centered around an accordion, a nice adjustment after a few serious songs. “Hard Out Here” also has some EDM beats, but it’s a little strange given that it’s the album’s last real song. “Sheezus” is otherwise a little close to a traditional pop album, musically, something Lily Allen usually tries to avoid.

So for a comeback album, “Sheezus” stands it’s ground. It’s inconsistent, sometimes too tame, sometimes too controversial, sometimes finding the right path. Lily Allen is doing Lily Allen as always, but “Sheezus” isn’t as strong or defined as her previous albums. It’ll satisfy fans, and it’s great to have Allen back. “Sheezus” is only passable, but when it comes down to it, it’s a lot better than having no new Lily Allen album at all.

For a better listen, go for a version that has a bonus track, a cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know.” She’s covered Keane before and both are beautiful renditions.

-By Andrew McNally

Jim Gaffigan – “Obsessed”

(Photo Credit: firewireblog.com)

Grade: B+

Key Bits: “Donuts” “Seafood” “Cancer”

For stand-up comedians, if a formula isn’t yet broken, don’t change it. Jim Gaffigan continues to prove himself as a comedian who has found a unique voice, and one that can continue to drive it even though it seems like it should’ve overstayed it’s welcome. On what’s technically his ninth stand-up album, although only his fifth that’s readily available (the first four are out of print), Gaffigan continues to visit the same three topics he’s covered in the past – food, religion, and his kids. He honestly offers nothing new on “Obsessed,” instead choosing to enforce the album’s perfect title. “Obsessed” actually aims to cover the exact same ground that the near-perfect “Beyond the Pale” did in 2006. 2009’s “King Baby” suffered from being almost too safe, and 2012’s excellent “Mr. Universe” added a cynical vein, spawned on largely by long bits about his children. But “Obsessed” takes the exact same routes as “Beyond the Pale,” showing that as long as there’s food and weddings, Gaffigan’s material has yet to get stale. Unlike fortune cookies.

Nine of the album’s nineteen tracks have titles relating to food, with food bits often incorporated into other bits (like “Weddings,” where Gaffigan dreams of dying young from too much ice cream so he doesn’t have to go to his daughter’s wedding). And as always, they’re some of the best bits. “Obsessed” was recorded in Boston (my home city!), which feels very intentional for the album. Two of the strongest bits are centered around local New England cuisine, “Seafood” and “Donuts.” Just mere mentions of seafood and donuts elicit a response from the Boston crowd. The “Donuts” bit is all pretty predictable, with Gaffigan saying that still life paintings are of fruit because artists wouldn’t resist donuts long enough. And he doesn’t like seafood, not one bit. “‘I love lobster.’ ‘Look, I get it, I love butter too.'” Elsewhere, he tackles buffalo wings, Chinese desserts, Kobe beef and fried bread, among many others. The format is exactly as it has been on his previous food bits, and it’s largely predictable, but it’s still effortlessly entertaining.

On his non-food based bits, Gaffigan continues on with pieces on his kids, of which there’s five now. The jokes don’t land in the individual kids, but on having five kids as a collective. Now, people tell him just to stop before he forms a country (“Gaffganistan”) He briefly touches on religion again, too, with jokes on God sending Jesus back down to tell people they aren’t supposed to be eating crabs, and how people whisper the word ‘cancer’ because the Devil might give it to us if we say it loudly. His bit on “Cancer” is one of the album’s strongest points, too. He addresses both the disease – “Cancer wouldn’t even see me as a challenge” – and learning it’s his zodiac sign. “I killed grandma!” One aspect of Gaffigan’s comedic voice that goes unnoticed is how he can deliver slightly taboo bits on religion and cancer by starting with 45 minutes of totally clean jokes about food. It allows Gaffigan to talk about cancer in a totally inoffensive way, and keeps “Obsessed” spotlessly clean.

Gaffigan has largely done away with the “audience voice” gimmick that dominated much of “Beyond the Pale.” And that’s good, because it worked great there but it gets a little old even by the end of the special. He doesn’t even do many voices here, although twice he does what’s along the lines of a Jersey tough guy, that works surprisingly well. He’s more straight forward here, like he was on “Mr. Universe.” “Obsessed” might be Gaffigan finally perfecting his form, balancing food-based humor with hints of cynicism. He’s able to follow his formula exactly without sounding repetitive and without any dull points, and it’s another long special. “Beyond the Pale” is probably always going to be a high mark in Gaffigan’s career, but “Obsessed” comes pretty close to matching it.

If you like this, try: Gaffigan is a rarity in today’s world: a clean comic. So an obvious go-to is Brian Regan, another clean comic. Christopher Titus might be related, too, with his earlier albums being almost entirely family-based.

-By Andrew McNally