MUSIC | Ratings for selected releases

'CONGOTRONICS 2'
Various artists (Crammed) sss 1/2 (out of five)
Last year's Konono No. 1 album "Congotronics" introduced African music heads to a rare groove: Congolese rumba in a cacophonous call-and-response with an electronic avant-rock aesthetic. "Congotronics 2" takes a deeper pull from what must be a mind-blowing music scene in the suburbs of Kinshasa, where amped-up thumb pianos, chattering guitars, and polyrhythmic percussion coalesce into heady trance grooves.
There's an eight-minute-plus Konono track here, to go with shimmering selections from eight other singular dance bands such as Kisanzi Congo and Kasai Allstars, each of which makes music that's at once proudly indigenous and brazenly experimental.
--Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
'CHANGE IT ALL'
Goapele (Columbia) ss 1/2 (out of five)
She's neither as raw as Nina Simone nor as smooth as Marvin Gaye when it comes to spouting socially conscious rhetoric. But for Goapele -- the sultry Oakland, Calif., crooner raised on radicalism -- a spoonful of sugar works best on all ills.
Expanding ever-so-slightly upon the spacey, jazz-soul-hop of her 2002 album, "Even Closer" (for instance, the electro-funk of "Fly Away," and the epic balladry of "Darker Side of the Moon"), Goapele's vocal palette is, like her music, laced with soft, impressionistic sounds.
If you concentrate on the gorgeous vocal melodies that flitter through "If We Knew" and the title track, the lyrics are too broad-yet-preachy to be of concern. Besides, her take on the politics of love -- as on "Crushed Out" and "4 AM" -- is far sharper and sweeter, far more of a temptation to get lost in.
--A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer
'A LIL SUMP'M SUMP'M'
Jon Nicholson (Warner Bros.) sss (out of five)
He's part of the red-hot Nashville collective known as the MuzikMafia, but Jon Nicholson doesn't sound anything like Gretchen Wilson or (thank goodness) Big & amp; Rich. Instead, the Wisconsin native's music is steeped in '60s and '70s soul. With a big, robust voice powering sturdy songs that are wrapped in keyboards and horns, Nicholson is as convincing a rocking soul man as Wilson is a redneck honky-tonker.
--Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer
'THE PERFECT SET: LIVE AT BRADLEY'S II'
Kenny Barron Trio (Sunnyside) sss 1/2 (out of five)
Pianist Kenny Barron serves up enticing work for novices and aficionados alike. The Philly native is consistently tasteful and energetic on this 1996 set, released in 2005. The session comprises the second part of a live session whose first half was released in 2002.
Working with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Ben Riley, Barron approaches the trio from every mainstream angle, finding the measure of such Monk classics as "Well, You Needn't," along with some captivating originals. The recording captures the rest of a select occasion at a much-revered, now-defunct Greenwich Village club.
--Karl Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer