‘Life, Death, Love and Freedom’

‘Life, Death, Love and Freedom’

John Mellencamp (Hear Music)

Grade: B-

Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame apparently incited John Mellencamp to obsess on mortality. He responds with “Life, Death, Love and Freedom,” the most somber album of his 32-year career, offering bass-heavy, rumbling blues and dark-hued acoustic stomps that explore death, relationships and the dark clouds hovering over such ongoing concerns as liberty, equality and peaceful coexistence.

Working for the first time with veteran producer T-Bone Burnett, Mellencamp moves away from the anthemic roots-rock and Midwestern soul music he’s built his reputation on.

Burnett envelops him in the same misty, reverberating twang used so well on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ “Raising Sand.” But Mellencamp uses that sound for an album of midnight ramblings that are less playful and more ominous.

The core songs address death directly: “Sometimes you get sick, and you don’t get better,” he sings in the opening “Longest Days.” “If I Die Sudden” features lyrics as blunt as its title, while “A Ride Back Home” asks Jesus to deliver him once he’s gone. Another song, “Don’t Need This Body,” starts with “This getting older ain’t for cowards,” then bemoans that he and his friends won’t be around much longer.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘Around The Bend’

Randy Travis (Warner Bros.)

Grade: A

When ’80s country star Randy Travis mounted a successful comeback in 2002, he did so by singing gospel music to a country beat, a gambit he repeated over several successive albums. Therefore, his solid new album, “Around The Bend,” is being billed as his first country music album in eight years.

In truth, he doesn’t completely abandon spiritual themes; “Faith In You,” “Love Is A Gamble” and “From Your Knees” feature Christian messages, or at least can be translated as such.

But the good news for country fans is that one of modern country’s most effective translators of hurting songs once again tackles themes of heartache and loss. The album’s most unforgettable tune, “You Didn’t Have A Good Time,” dresses down a man who has lost most everything except the empty bottles piled around his home. Hopefully country radio will embrace this secular triumph just as it did his spiritual ones.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

‘Partie Traumatic’

Black Kids (Almost Gold)

Grade: A

The Black Kids are, with their debut album “Partie Traumatic,” instantly the coolest “kids” in music. They’ve taken everything modern and relevant — from Killers-esque vocals to nonretro synth work — and rolled it into one of the best albums of the year without a sour track in sight.

They ought to sell iPods with this permanently burned into the memory so you’ll never lose it. Who knew Jacksonville, Fla., could produce a band this fun?

The vocals on the title track, “Partie Traumatic” are smart without being smarmy. A jangled, funk-infested guitar supplies the energy while spooky synthesizer sounds dance around the aural foreground. “This jungle is massive/ So please don’t be so passive/ Be impressive, impress us/ And they will get the message,” goes the opening salvo of this charming track.

“Listen To Your Body Tonight” is in overdrive from the very beginning. The band digs in heavy from the first note and never lets up on this memorable songs about following your sexual intuition.

Part of the appeal of the Black Kids’ approach is that they nail the technical delivery of each song on all fronts. The vocals, for the most part, sound like The Cure’s Robert Smith on helium. If the music was understated, it wouldn’t work as well, but the songs have a habit of coming to a crescendo nicely and giving lead singer Reggie Youngblood a platform on which to soar.

If they are to be faulted for anything, it’s for being a little too hook-heavy. But at least the hooks are good. Most of the songs are about sex and love and sprinkled with randy language throughout, so tender ears beware.

— Ron Harris, Associated Press