‘EARDRUM’

‘EARDRUM’

Talib Kweli (Blacksmith/Warner Bros.)

Grade: A

Talib Kweli’s “Eardrum” is all about substance. It seems Brooklyn’s own conscious-rapper is unconcerned with creating the stuff that sells ringtones, and more focused on sharing an introspective look at the day-to-day struggles of the have-nots.

On “Eat to Live,” Kweli narrates a day in the life of a little boy with “ ... hunger pangs in his tummy. Nothin’ in the freezer. Nothin’ in the fridge. Couple of forty ounces, but nothing for the kids.” Before the track’s end, Kweli has pointed out the nutritional value of rhymes, thereby bringing new meaning to the phrase “we got to feed the kids,” which he repeats on the song’s chorus.

He extols spirituality, and questions religion on “Give ’Em Hell.” And he boldly confronts wack rappers and shady lawmakers, while a gospel choir delivers a powerful chorus, on “Hostile Gospel Pt. 1 [Deliver Us].”

Aside from the funky and fast-moving will.i.am-produced “Hot Thing,” production on “Eardrum” is no-frills. Kweli’s bars come first and foremost. On the super jazzy “In the Mood,” even beats by Kanye West simply work to frame Kweli’s rhyming, which varies from slow to speedy and on and off beat within in the span of a verse.

“Country Cousins” featuring UGK and Raheem DeVaughn is among the album’s handful of skippable tracks. If anything, the song is a bit of a bore — with Kweli listing off his favorite non-New York rappers from back in the day, and the Underground Kingz doing pretty much the same.

All in all, even without all the bells and whistles, Kweli arrives back on the scene with undeniably heartfelt and thought-provoking emceeing. He is, as poet Sonia Sanchez says on the album’s intro, “ ... always punctual with his mouth.”

—Melanie Sims, Associated Press

‘KALA’

M.I.A. (Interscope)

Grade: C+

“M.I.A. is coming back with power power,” chants rapper Mathangi Arulpragasam on the opening track of her new sophomore release “Kala.”

Looking like a pint-sized Afrika Bambaataa on the album’s cover, the British-born Sri Lankan refugee, aka M.I.A., is definitely back ... with world beats thumping.

Not nearly as brilliant as 2005’s “Arular,” a crush of lo-fi political wit, hip-hop, electro rhythms and urban sass, “Kala” continues M.I.A.’s quest to speak global underground truths.

This time, instead of just rapping about her tumultuous youth in Sri Lanka (her dad founded a guerrilla group there) and later London upbringing, she looks to life and struggles spanning other countries.

Produced by Switch and DJ Diplo, “Kala” was written and recorded during M.I.A.’s travels to India, Trinidad, Jamaica, Australia, Japan and Baltimore, with a smattering of international contributors.

“Hussel” finds her splitting rhymes with Nigerian rapper Afrikan Boy in a tune drenched in fuzzy synthesizers and bird chirps.

“You think it’s tough now, come to Africa,” Afrikan Boy shouts.

“Mango Pickle Down River” is a strange little ditty, all bass, drum and didgeridoo grind, with the eerie voices of Aborigine teen clan the Wilcannia Mob coated over M.I.A.’s deeper ode to fish and mango pickle.

At “Kala’s” best, M.I.A. lifts lyrics and licks from rock bands like the Modern Lovers, the Pixies and the Clash and fluidly works them into her urban-pop immigrant tales.

“Third world democracy/ Yah, I’ve got more records in the KGB,” she boasts on “Paper Planes.”

At its worst, the album doesn’t quite ride the same wave of delicious catchiness as “Arular.”

Even with Timbaland featured on the last track “Come Around,” “Kala” is infectious, but not addictive.

—Solvej Schou, Associated Press

‘UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT’

Rilo Kiley (Warner Bros.)

Grade: B

Coming out of the indie-rock world with peers Death Cab for Cutie and Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley released three increasingly sophisticated albums, culminating in 2004’s superb “More Adventurous.” Lead by versatile guitarist Blake Sennett (who also heads the Elected), along with literate, thoughtful writer and sweet-voiced singer Jenny Lewis (whose excellent solo debut, “Rabbit Fur Coat,” came out last year), Rilo Kiley has been on a rapid upward trajectory.

“Under the Blacklight,” however, is a surprise: It’s full of relatively straightforward blue-eyed disco-soul songs. Gone are Lewis’ wordy, self-aware lyrics, in favor of more conventional and simple structures; she’s much less introspective, preferring to write about prostitutes (”Close Call”) and unwitting pedophiles (the horn-driven “15”). Sennett’s “Dreamworld” could be a late-’70s Hall & Oates outtake (and that’s a good thing). And actually, although “Blacklight” isn’t what we expected from Rilo Kiley, they do this disco soul thing well.

—Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘CHALLENGERS’

New Pornographers (Matador)

Grade: B

The fourth album from the New Pornographers is an altogether calmer, not so wildly energetic effort as the previous outings from the Vancouver indie supergroup. And that’s not a bad thing. The NPs — the brainchild of Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach devotee A.C. Newman, with significant contribution by word-slinging songsmith Dan Bejar and vocal powerhouse Neko Case — are frequently celebrated for their facility in delivering soaring if lyrically abstruse nuggets packed with hooks, hooks and more hooks.

But while Challengers doesn’t come up with anything quite so deliriously giddy as “Sing Me Spanish Techno” (off 2005’s “Twin Cinema”), it does bring beguilingly becalmed tunes like “All the Old Showstoppers” and the mandolin-flecked title track that provide a welcome alternative to the Pornographers’ frequently frenetic power-pop assault.

—Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘SALVATION IN LIGHTS’

Mike Farris (INO/Columbia)

Grade: B

He’s the former leader of a band called the Screamin’ Cheetah Willies who also once fronted the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section, Double Trouble, and on his second solo album Mike Farris tells a rousing tale of redemption.

Fittingly, gospel is the form the recovering substance abuser uses on “Salvation in Lights.” Like the “Seeger Sessions” Springsteen, Farris bends standards his way — transforming “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” into grooving, horn-filled R&B; taking “Can’t No Grave Hold My Body Down” to the swamp; and adding his own words to “I’ll Take You There.”

He alternates these with originals like “Devil Don’t Sleep” and “I’m Gonna Get There” that are as strong and impassioned as his vocals — at times he recalls the late blue-eyed-soul great Eddie Hinton. The result is a set that does indeed take you there — stirring both body and spirit and reaffirming the transcendent power of gospel.

—Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘INDIAN SUMMER’

Dave Brubeck (Telarc)

Grade: B-

Pianist Dave Brubeck plays with so much heart on this solo recording. Gentle tunes roll out in sweet succession. Brubeck, who’s experiencing a kind of Indian summer in his long career, is extremely accessible and seems to invite the listener in from the front porch.

Now 86, Brubeck remains best known for his quartets with saxophonist Paul Desmond in the 1950s that produced such tunes as “Take Five.” He went on to compose religious music and play a lot with his sons: Darius on keyboards, Chris on bass and bass trombone, and Danny on drums.

Much of this set has an elegiac cast. Brubeck is often choosing standards that were popular in his youth. “Autumn in Our Town” is surprisingly dark and passionate, while “September Song” begins with an eerie figure that softens into the well-known melody.

His original “Thank You” builds from a somber beginning into the big, bunchy chords of a pseudo Rachmaninoff. One can sniff at its presumption, but it’s captivating. The title track is one last gush of concentrated sweetness.

—Karl Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘EL CANTANTE: MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED
BY THE ORIGINAL MOTION
PICTURE’

Marc Anthony (Norte/Sony International)

Grade: B

Marc Anthony.

Forget, for a moment, his wife, Jennifer Lopez, whose sharp, pensive tones pierce this record’s final ballad. Put aside the fact that Anthony has reigned supreme in the salsa romantica stakes as well as touching on its more traditional aspects since dispensing with freestyle house in 1992.

Anthony’s a fine singer and a decent actor whose twin talents merge in his cinematic portrayal of El Cantante de los Cantantes: Hector Lavoe.

There’s not enough room for Lavoe’s torrid biography here. See the film. Anthony’s good. That’s the point. On its soundtrack, Anthony puts aside his high, light croon for something a tad more precise and decidedly husky — subtler yet more spontaneous — in his portrayal of the Fania label powerhouse and Willie Colon collaborator. Though the songs won’t make you forget Lavoe’s rhythmic playful phrasing or his buoyant, brassy brand of stewing ‘70s/’80s salsa, Anthony and Co. (an ensemble including Marc Quinones, Milton Cardona and Yomo Toro) run through the galloping “Che Che Cole,” the grandly dynamic “Aguanile” and the tenderly tentative “Que Lio” with sass and style.

—A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer