Music reviews

‘Jewellry’

Micachu & The Shapes (Beggars) Grade: B+

Mica Levi is a 21-year-old, classically trained Brit who plays a half-sized acoustic guitar and already has performed her compositions with the London Philharmonic. The skittering music she makes with her trio Micachu & the Shapes on her wholly original-sounding “Jewellry,” which was produced by esteemed Brit electronic poobah Matthew Herbert, beeps and blurts and bangs; expresses caution (“No, I won’t have sex because of STDs,” she sings matter-of-factly over a rat-a-tat rhythm on “Just in Case”); and loses itself in vocal harmony on the terrifically catchy “Golden Phone.”

Like a more hyperactive version of glitchy German noise poppers the Notwist, Levi knows how to get her artistic jollies while taking gleeful delight in fracturing her music to pieces and never losing sight of the pleasures of the 2 1‚Ñ2-minute pop song.

— Dan DeLuca, McClatchy Newspapers

‘Moving Forward’

Bernie Williams (Reform) Grade: B

A former star center fielder for the New York Yankees, Bernie Williams is also quite an accomplished guitarist. Like his first album, “The Journey Within,” the new “Moving Forward” is no mere vanity project, and Williams takes the title to heart as he shows impressive musical growth.

Playing both acoustic and electric and backed by such heavyweights as drummer Kenny Aronoff and bassist Leland Sklar, Williams sculpts evocative, well-defined instrumentals that nail the moods he’s after. They range from the lively salsa-jazz-rock of “Songo” to the “exotic and sensual” — his words — “Addicted to You,” and the sweetly gentle “Lullaby for Beatriz.” He also brilliantly reinterprets “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” giving the ballpark standard an autumnal air.

— Nick Cristiano, McClatchy Newspapers

‘No Time for Later’

The Trews (EMI) Grade: B

Let us now thank Nova Scotia for the reliable rock pleasures provided by this quartet. The Canadian quarriers, led by brothers Colin and John Angus McDonald, adopt a brighter and poppier sound for their third release. Fortuitously, Colin’s springy voice is well-suited to this type of material. Whereas in the past the Trews have evoked Mother Love Bone, here they move in the direction of the Raspberries.

It’s not that the boys have gone bantam. They still pack some punch into songs such as “Dark Highway” and “Hold Me in Your Arms.” “No Time for Later” may not carry the startling originality of the band’s earlier work, but it’s still gratifyingly listenable.

— David Hiltbrand, McClatchy Newspapers

‘Gulf Coast Highway’

Eric Lindell (Alligator) Grade: B

In his 10 years in New Orleans, Northern California-raised Eric Lindell has thoroughly assimilated himself into the region’s rich musical culture. With his third album, the singer-guitarist continues to carve out his own identity in his adopted home while sounding more than ever like a native son.

“Love and Compassion” may celebrate the historical political change in the country, but musically Lindell is a traditionalist, looking to re-energize rather than revolutionize. “Gulf Coast Highway” is steeped in taut, instantly infectious R&B and soul grooves, heavy on the horns. His terse originals, meanwhile, have an unaffected, straight-to-the-heart charm that often recalls the work of the bayou bard Bobby Charles.

—Nick Cristiano, McClatchy Newspapers