record reviews

July 18, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

M.I.A.

Album: “Y”

Grade: B+

M.I.A. could have taken the easy way out. After the international smash “Paper Planes,” an artistic and commercial success, all she had to do for her new album was craft “Paper Planes II” — a similar combo of catchy melodies and cleverly disguised political rhetoric — to build on her momentum.

That’s not what she did, of course. No LeBronning for her. Instead, M.I.A. made things more challenging. Her new album “Y” (N.E.E.T./XL), which is unpronounceable but stands for her first name “Maya,” tries to bridge the gap between her stunning, innovative debut “Arular” and a mainstream clamoring for a fresh take — musically, lyrically and ideologically — on hip-hop. Truth be told, she falls a little short most of the time. But the effort still makes for rewarding listening.

After all, for M.I.A. the music is often just the jumping-off point. The raucous, abrasive, suicide-sampling adrenaline ride “Born Free” becomes exponentially undeniable when teamed with its controversial video that violently shows what ethnic cleansing looks like by rounding up and murdering red-haired boys. In the stomping, guitar-fueled “Meds and Feds,” she renovates the techno sound of the ’90s.

But it’s her pop-leaning songs that stand to gain the most attention. With its Euro-electro-pop feel, “XXXO” could be a Lady Gaga hit, and the lilting, dub-tinged “It Takes a Muscle” sounds like it’s one radio-friendly remix away from being a summertime hit.

However, it’s the sweet “Space” that comes closest to capsulizing what M.I.A. wants “Y” to achieve — catchy music that’s still thought-provoking. Hopefully that’s enough to inspire her to keep trying.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

MYSTERY JETS

Album: “Serotonin”

Grade: B

Mystery Jets, the quintet once based on Eel Pie Island on the River Thames, initially were famed for that and two other things: writing killer pop tunes and featuring the drummer’s dad on guitar.

But neither of those admittedly impressive facts was enough to carry the Jets to the next musical level, and their initial hype seemed to have stagnated.

“Serotonin” (Rough Trade), their third album, comes at a turning point for the band. Whether they become indie also-rans or finally deliver rides on 11 simple tracks. And, dare we say it, the Jets impress.

From the beginning, the spiky rhythms of their earlier tracks have been supplanted by the spacious opener “Alice Springs,” with its Bono-aping bluster. Elsewhere, the brilliant “Dreaming of Another World” and the massive riff at the heart of “Show Me the Light” are simply standouts on a genuinely stellar album. At their core, the Jets retain their love for glittering pop drama. More grown up? Maybe. But grown old? Never.

— Emily Tartanella, Philadelphia Inquirer

KELIS

“Flesh Tone”

Grade: B

Being a dancing queen is no easy reign. You can’t just waltz into the job or keep the crown without competition. Ask Kelis.

Kelis trades in her quirky brand of sultry soul-hop for something sleeker and colder on “Flesh Tone” (Interscope), with varying results. The throbbing Euro-sparseness of “Acapella” stays durable, while the elastic “22nd Century” grows limp after time. The best thing about her foray into electro is how she uses escapist house musicality to embrace the lyrical realities of being a divorced (bye, Nas) single mom.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

DANGER MOUSE AND SPARKLEHORSE

Album: “Dark Night of the Soul”

Grade: B

A year ago, Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) and Sparklehorse (Mark Linkous) planned to release “Dark Night of the Soul” (EMI), their suite of soul-searching psychedelia and nightmarish rock, for a flock of guest singers and lyricists, but a label dispute derailed it. A book of related photos by filmmaker David Lynch came out, with a blank CD-R inviting purchasers to download the leaked album. Since then, Linkous and Vic Chesnutt, one of the guests, have committed suicide, which now makes the release an unintentional valedictory.

Stately and staticky, the understated songs sound like prime Sparklehorse, although with the vocals of, among many, Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, Suzanne Vega, and James Mercer of the Shins and (with Burton) Broken Bells. A few heavy-handed rockers disrupt the spell, but Dark Night is, aptly, haunted, nuanced and phantasmagoric.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer

MARY GAUTHIER

Album: “The Foundling”

Grade: A

As a singer-songwriter who has always tended toward the downbeat, Mary Gauthier could not have picked a more suitable topic for her latest album. “The Foundling” (Razor & Tie) is her overtly autobiographical account of being an orphan and failing to connect with her birth mother. Working with the Cowboy Junkies’ Michael Timmins as producer — he surrounds her Louisiana drawl with understated but richly evocative arrangements — Gauthier presents a gripping narrative that amounts to the best work of a fine career.

“March 11, 1962,” in which she finally reaches her mother by phone, only to be rejected, is a killer. But the story doesn’t end there. A clue to how Gauthier manages to keep this tale from being irredeemably dark and depressing can be found in “Sideshow”; she unapologetically confesses a penchant for sad songs, but also pokes a little fun at herself: “Another truly troubled troubadour/ Writing songs to even up the score.” With “The Foundling,” Gauthier does much more than that.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer