LITTLE ROCK — Haley Reinhart
Listen Up!
19/Interscope B+
Haley Reinhart flirts with Bruno Mars’ turf on her debut. Listen Up! is a smartly arranged and well-produced modern soul/pop throwback that may, upon hearing, surprise American Idol detractors. Its Motown and Philly rooted sound is great for the singer’s powerhouse voice.
“Hit the Ground Runnin’” has a cool Supremes/Marvelettes vibe with a sassy, contemporary attitude. It, along with the opening “Oh My” (which didn’t need B.o.B.) and the wondrous girl group-inspired “Wasted Tears,” can’t help but bring, to varying degrees, Amy Winehouse to mind.
Listen Up! is a strong, engaging debut by a very promising pop singer. Adele fans should find a lot to like here, too.
Hot tracks: “Hit the Ground Runnin’”;the clubby “Now That You’re Here” with an Emotions-like vibe; the stirring “Wasted Tears.”
- ELLIS WIDNER
Beach House
Bloom
Sub Pop B-
This is cloudlike, dreamy pop that manages to somehow sound innocent and worldly. Beach House mates Victoria Legend and Alex Scally revel in simple arrangements that nevertheless sound epic, as if each song is their last. Brooding synths are piled atop each other while echo-laden vocals weave in and out to gauzy effect. Bloom works best when heard as an album proper, from front to back. Its melodies do have a sometimes numbing similarity, but the overall effect works well enough.
Hot tracks: “Myth,” “Lazuli” (and hang around for the hidden track after “Irene” at the end).
- SEAN CLANCY
Simone Felice
Simone Felice
Team Love B
Well, that makes sense. Simone Felice told National Public Radio that his solo album was written as he convalesced from emergency open-heart surgery and was under the influence of some rather strong drugs. There is a hazy fog over this collection of folk rock, from which glimmers of brilliance shine like the rising sun.
Felice, who recorded with his brothers in the Felice Brothers and also with The Duke and the King, has a quavering, Cat Stevens-like voice that often doesn’t rise much above a whisper. He is a talented storyteller, a keen observer and is profoundly interested in what makes America tick, whether it be a pre-9/11 New York City, murdered actress Sharon Tate, the wreckage of Courtney Love, or some tragic small-town character study.
The first run through this album might make you shrug - the arrangements tend to lean toward the glacial and precious. Give it some time, though, because Simone Felice is a warm and special work.
Hot tracks: The upbeat (rare for this album) “You & I Belong,” “New York Times,” “Splendor in the Grass.”
- SEAN CLANCY
Moriah Peters
I Choose Jesus
Reunion A-
When 19-year-old college freshman Moriah Peters auditioned for American Idol, she made it through about five months of preliminary cuts but was told she was not “ideal” for their program. That experience became a springboard to a Christian music career, a recording contract and a spot on Mercy Me’s spring tour.
I Choose Jesus is her first album; the title song was “written out of the experiences she had in high school where she was one of only a handful of Christians in her classroom.”
This vibrant, colorful collection of songs ranges from pop to deeper ballads of love and devotion. Peters’ lively, clear and strong voice is reminiscent of Colbie Caillat and Jamie Grace.
Hot tracks: “Know Us By Our Love” is a tribute to Peters’ mother, “Bloom” is a boost of encouragement that reminds us to look below the surface of our circumstances to see better times coming.
- ROSEMARY BOGGS
Paul and Linda McCartney
Ram
MPL/Concord B-
When the Beatles broke up, fans wanted grand statements from John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. Lennon and Harrison delivered with John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass.
McCartney? Not so grand. His homemade McCartney was simple, raw. In 1971, joined by wife Linda, came the more polished Ram. The music still had an unhurried, take it as it is quality. Melodies were catchy and the lyrics often lighthearted.
Ram was vilified by many fans and critics. The symphonic “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” hit No. 1 in spite of the fuss. But if Ram isn’t calculated, it’s still pretty precious. Good rock and roll on“Smile Away” and “Monkberry Moon Delight” offset that somewhat, but Ram is not McCartney’s finest hour by any means.
Ram has been reissued in several versions with bonus tracks, a DVD and book in prices from under $15 to more than $100.
Hot tracks: “Back Seat of My Car” has the scope of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys; the Lennon diatribe “Too Many People,” the sly “Eat at Home.”
- ELLIS WIDNER
Style, Pages 27 on 06/05/2012