record reviews

DRAKE

Album: “Take Care”

Grade: A

It’s a sign of the changing times that Drake sounds more humble and more in-check on his impressive sophomore album, “Take Care” (Cash Money), than he did on his hit-and-miss debut, “Thank Me Later,” from last year.

Drenched in dubstep’s moody synths, the bulk of “Take Care” is melancholy and cautious, effectively capturing today’s zeitgeist of uncertainty and diminishing expectations. His rhymes are filled with emotional self-doubt and realizations about how success didn’t bring him the happiness he thought it would. (“Good Ones Go” is especially uneasy.) Oh, sure, Drake still boasts, but it’s usually hedged. “I’m the greatest — man, I said that before I knew I was,” he says in “Underground Kings.”

Drake needs his guests to draw him out of the gloom. Rihanna draws him onto the dance floor on the gorgeous title track, providing a sweet counterpoint to her own “We Found Love.”

Nicki Minaj helps him create a relationship of equals on the more straightforward hip-hop “Make Me Proud,” while Lil Wayne challenges him to match his creativity on the anti-interview rant “HYFR.”

“Take Care” proves that all his high-profile mentors were right to lavish him with time and resources. He’s grown into the role of hip-hop’s newest superstar.

— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

FLORENCE & THE MACHINE

Album: “Ceremonials” (Universal)

Grade: B

Big, bigger, biggest: Powerful-voiced redhead Florence Welch gets her grandiose Wall of Sound on with “Ceremonials,” the long-time-in-coming follow-up to Florence & the Machine’s star-making 2009 debut, “Lungs.”

Over the course of their 15-song sophomore release, Flo and band repeatedly start off sort of quietly, with what often sounds like they’re going to airy, keyboard-based, Kate Bush-styled ballads. But almost without fail, the gentle beginnings of the likes of “Only If for a Night,” “Never Let Me Go,” and “No Light, No Light” emerge from the mystic to transform into triumphant fist-pumpers. Like Lady Gaga or Bono, Welch is averse to understatement, a maximalist who, left to her own devices, will always aim to reach the rafters with her arresting voice.

Over the course of an hour-plus, “Ceremonials” grows repetitive and somewhat burdensome, and it would be nice if there were more tunes as inviting as “Breaking Down” or “Lover to Lover.” But Welch is a rock star, all right, and “Ceremonials” showcases her strengths well enough to turn her into a much bigger one.

— Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

David Nail

Album: “The Sound Of A Million Dreams” (MCA Nashville)

Grade: A

David Nail owns a soulful voice custom-made for heart-tugging narratives, which is what he continues to concentrate on for his second album, “The Sound Of A Million Dreams.”

The album’s first hit, “Let It Rain,” mines the same reflective melodrama found in his previous country radio favorites “Red Light” and “Turning Home.” Most of “The Sound Of A Million Dreams” stays in that comfort zone, portraying Nail as a thoughtful guy who sings about mature relationships, whether it’s hoping to reveal his feelings to someone he just met (“Catch You While I Can”) or discovering he hasn’t revealed enough to someone who has been in his life for years (“I Thought You Knew”).

Working with producers Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainley and Glenn Worf — the same team behind Miranda Lambert’s “Four The Record” — Nail leans on arrangements resembling the blend of pianos and orchestral strings that works so well for Lady Antebellum.

In the personal testimony of the ballad “Catherine” and the tender break-up song “That’s How I’ll Remember You,” Nail brings out emotions with subtle expressiveness. At a time when country music overflows with macho bluster and vocal overkill, Nail is a restrained romantic — and that may be enough to set him apart.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

MEEK MILL (WITH DJ DRAMA)

Album: “Dreamchasers” (Maybach)

Grade: A

Philadelphia rapper and rhymer Meek Mill is the king of the 21st-century mix tape. His famed and acclaimed “Flamerz” series, with its uptempo melodies and earthy stories of penthouse and pavement, earned him a deal this year with MC/hip-hop CEO Rick Ross’ Maybach label.

Under Ross’ Miami-centric influence, Mill’s music and rhythms have grown slower and slurpier, but the song remains the same. For his first mix tape under Ross’ watchful gaze, Mill takes it slow and low when it comes to his usual vibe (e.g., the heated “House Party,” featuring Young Chris) and the braggadocio familiar to Ross, his collaborator on “Ima Boss” and “Work.”

Real progress comes for Mill in his guise as a staunch and forward-moving storyteller. “Middle of Da Summer” finds his city gentrifying while his lust for a life of crime blossoms. “Tony Story” is as ticklish and detailed a cops-and-robbers tale as anything Jimmy Breslin has penned.

With fellow Philadelphian Beanie Sigel by his side, Mill takes to “Dreamchasers” with genuine tough and tender aspiration beyond the hand that was initially dealt. Strong stuff.

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer

GYM CLASS HEROES

Album: “Chronicles II”

Grade: B

Gym Class Heroes run through so many styles on “The Papercut Chronicles II” (Fueled by Ramen) that it’s often hard to believe it all comes from the same band. The pop stuff is likable and radio-friendly but kind of anonymous — with “Stereo Hearts” more about Adam Levine, and “Fighter” more about Ryan Tedder. The rock stuff fares better, especially the guitar-heavy “Martyrial Girl” and the Linkin Park-ish “Solo Discotheque,” while the heavier hip-hop songs land a little too close to Eminem. All the Heroes’ worship gets confusing.

— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

CAVEMAN

Album: “Coco Beware” (Org Music)

Grade: C

Caveman offers a predictably au courant blend of nostalgic elements on “Coco Beware,” the NYC quintet’s debut. There are Velvet Underground-inspired electric strums; swooning, hazy vocals that conjure mid-’90s dream pop; a few doses of gothic/post-punk tribal tension. In contemporary terms, both Panda Bear and Grizzly Bear are in Caveman’s musical DNA.

Those familiar details wrap some engaging, memorable songs, from the woozy “December 28th” and “Old Friend” to the perky, harmony-happy “My Time” and “Decide,” which get a propulsive edge from the percussion-forward arrangements. But sometimes, Caveman drifts aimlessly, especially late in the album; rather than sound dreamy, “Easy Water” and “Thankful” are blurry, unfocused. “Coco Beware” is a promising debut, but it’s burdened by how much the strongest tracks outshine the rest.

— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer