‘Man on the Moon: The End of Day’

‘Man on the Moon: The End of Day’

Kid Cudi (GOOD/Universal Motown)

Grade: B

In the middle of “Enter Galactic [Love Connection Part 1],” one of the few flirtatious songs on his moody, supercool new album, art rapper Kid Cudi asks a pertinent question. “If you can’t do what you imagine, then what is imagination to you?” he teases his paramour, with whom he might have just shared a hit of Ecstasy.

That challenge makes a central point about the 25-year-old Kid Cudi’s mission, which is to portray his own mind’s meanderings within soundscapes as vivid as those other rappers create to describe gang battles or club-to-crib seductions.

Following in a line that includes legendary fabulists such as Ralph Ellison and Sun Ra and intersects with hip-hop via artists such as the Wu-Tang Clan, Outkast and Cudi’s mentor, Kanye West, this Cleveland-raised former film student expands hip-hop’s language by exploring the inner life of the inner city the way others focus on the action in the street.

Cudi, now a hipster Brooklynite, ponders his emotional downturns and upticks in sing-song rhymes set within spacious electronic sound beds. His father’s death and his subsequent struggles as a teen preoccupy him, as do his daily efforts to inspire himself to be a “lion,” not the paranoid insomniac he dubs “Mr. Solo Dolo.”

It’s all pretty self-indulgent, but in a way that’s the point. Cudi’s trying to do what Louis Armstrong did, according to Ralph Ellison: “He’s made poetry out of being invisible.” Alienated and adrift but determined to make his imaginings concrete, he presents his psychic turmoil as a true adventure. His flair for surrealistic imagery helps his reveries soar.

So does the production by an array of studio experimentalists including West, Emile, Plain Pat and the dance-pop duos Ratatat and MGMT. Creative samples and an airy mix help these tracks surprise the listener, even after many plays, and make “Man on the Moon: The End of Day” a standout release.

The one overly consistent element, unfortunately, is Cudi’s voice. His unhurried nasal flow is highly recognizable but doesn’t quite convey the sly wit of precursors such as Slick Rick and Snoop Dogg. He’s best when he lets the fog lift on more extroverted cuts like the funny “Make Her Say” and “Enter Galactic.”

Let’s hope Kid Cudi finds a few more ladies to take into space on his next journey; they seem to help him get beyond his habits and hang-ups.

— Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times

‘Anomaly’

Ace Frehley (Bronx Born)

Grade: A

Guns ’N Roses has nothing on Ace Frehley when it comes to lengthy album delays. The 17 years it took to finish “Chinese Democracy” was generally considered the gold standard of rock ’n’ roll procrastination.

Until now.

The former KISS guitarist took 20 years to finish “Anomaly,” his fourth solo studio album and first since 1989’s “Trouble Walkin.’”

And yes, it was worth the wait.

In between a five-year KISS reunion and recurring battles with the bottle, Frehley picked away at his new album, emerging with a disc that evokes the spirit and fire of his self-titled 1978 solo album. That disc was the most successful of the four KISS solo albums that were simultaneously released, and the only one to spawn a hit single in “New York Groove.”

He kicks things off with “Foxy And Free,” an in-your-face rocker that packs a powerful punch. The next track, “Outer Space,” plays on his role as the Spaceman in KISS, and adds a heavier bottom groove.

Frehley serves up a smoking cover of Sweet’s 1970s hit “Fox On The Run” that starts with his trademark guitar toggle-switch noodling. “Space Bear,” an ode to the stuffed animal he sits atop his wall of Marshall amps in concert, is the best of three instrumentals on the disc.

“Anomaly” shows why Frehley is one of the most influential guitarists in rock history — and why KISS remains a pale imitation without him.

— Wayne Parry, Associated Press

‘the resistance’

Muse (Warner Bros.)

Grade: D-

Muse isn’t content with sounding like the biggest band on the planet. On “The Resistance,” the British trio continues its quest to be the most bombastic band in the universe, with a sound so overwhelming and all-encompassing that it just might reach other life forms in galaxies far, far away — a topic that frontman Matthew Bellamy often tackles in his compositions. The problem is that if first contact were actually to be made, imminent destruction of our species would likely follow. The aliens would think, “If these humans gleefully make such awful and stupid sounds, destroying and colonizing their planet will surely present no problem.”

The cheeseball pomp and circumstance of rockers “Uprising” and “United States of Eurasia” sound like either first drafts of Queen songs or over-processed imitations. And those are the highlights of the album. By far. At least there’s a bit of swing, monster riffs and militaristic drums that give the songs some momentum. The rest of the album manages to be plodding and tuneless yet still overblown. You couldn’t always count on Muse to write great songs, but you could always count on those songs to sound sharp and pristine. That’s not the case on “The Resistance.”

The closing 13-minute “Exogenesis” trilogy serves as a perfect microcosm for the album. It’s as puzzling as it is pointless, showing no real sense of purpose — a brief burst of energy near the end of “Symphony Part 2” is the only real peak — and doesn’t even have any of the virtuosic show-off moments that prog-rock suites are best known for. But maybe there’s just nothing to show off. Muse’s best — and perhaps only — talent remains its ambition.

— David Malitz, Washington Post