record reviews

LADY ANTEBELLUM

Album: “Own the Night”

Grade: B

For country fans who believe Rascal Flatts rocks too hard, Lady Antebellum appeared five years ago like an adult-contemporary dream, a sweet-singing, fantastic-looking boy-girl-boy trio obsessed with kisses in the moonlight and the things that happen afterward.

The Nashville band, famous for 2010’s “Need You Now” and subsequent Grammy dominance, spends its third album honing an unobtrusive formula to precision — beautifully interlocking harmonies plus love songs plus electric guitars plus a requisite change-of-pace rocker (“Friday Night,” which has the aspirational feel of Blake Shelton’s summer hit “Honey Bee”).

Built for relentless repetition on many radio formats, “Own the Night” is mostly midtempo ballads, with understated instrumentation designed to showcase Hillary Scott’s unbelievably smooth vocals pitching woo with Charles Kelley’s deeper and somewhat grittier tone. (Dave Haywood drops in to flesh out the harmonies where necessary). The lyrics, mostly penned by the band and rotating co-writers, are singularly focused: “We Owned the Night” chronicles a new relationship so exciting it moves Kelley to declare “aw, yeah!”; “Dancing Away With My Heart” dreams of The One That Got Away (“For me, you’ll always be 18 and beautiful”); “As You Turn Away” is a dark breakup ballad; and “The Love I’ve Found In You” is about, well, maybe you’re detecting a theme, here.

There’s nothing wrong with “Own the Night.” It’s well-written, pristinely sung and is likely to be a huge hit. But would a little spontaneity kill anybody? Come on, Lady, make a mistake. Hit the wrong note. Knock over a microphone. Something to remind us you’re human.

— Steve Knopper, Newsday

Nick Lowe

Album: “The Old Magic” (Yep Roc)

Grade: B

Nick Lowe may no longer be the Jesus of Cool, as the title of his first album labeled him, but he’s one of your hipper sexagenarians. “The Old Magic” provides proof with an outstanding batch of 11 songs that even the kids should find fly.

Like other rock artists of his generation, Lowe has taken to crooning, but rather than rehash too-familiar elevator music, he wrote his own songs for “The Old Magic.” They’re a terrific reminder that the middle of the road is for more than roadkill.

The tunes are filled with clever lyrical twists, a trademark Lowe shares with old crony Elvis Costello. On the opening cut, “Stoplight Roses,” Lowe notes they’re “a dead giveaway.” His dignified deadpan delivery makes such observations that much more effective, and he’s quite convincing as a lounge singer.

The arrangements are nicely varied, with touches of the other Elvis, Burt Bacharach, countrypolitan and old R&B. Sam Cooke would have been at home on a couple of cuts.

Sad ballads predominate, but Lowe cranks up the tempo a few times. “I’m 61 years old now,” he sings on the twangy toe-tapper “Checkout Time.” “Lord, I never thought I’d see 30.” At 61, the old New Waver can still rock, even if it’s turn-back-the-clock rock.

— Steven Wine, Associated Press

katy b

Album: “On a Mission”

Grade: B

Katy B, the so-called “queen of dubstep,” recently was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Music Prize for her debut album, “On A Mission.” And her competition included more established U.K. artists such as Adele, Tinie Tempah and PJ Harvey.

Although she didn’t take home the big prize, the 22-year-old stands out from her peers with her club-friendly pop record that encompasses not just dubstep, but 1990s house and garage, too. Her warm vocals have a soothing R&B-feel and have been compared to Jazmine Sullivan and Marsha Ambrosius.

The songs “Katy On A Mission” and “Lights On” are bold and catchy with their infectious melodies, while tracks like “Disappear,” with its broken beat, and “Go Away,” a dubstep ballad, delve into another territory and highlight Katy B’s multiple talents. The magic here is her versatility across the entire album, showing that she’s not tied down to a single genre: It’s that versatility that is the key to a great dance album.

— Bianca Roach, Associated Press

Kristin Chenoweth

Album: “Some Lessons Learned” (CBS Masterworks)

Grade: C

A successful Broadway and TV actress, Kristin Chenoweth brings a country music background to her first Nashville- recorded album, “Some Lessons Learned.”

An Oklahoma native, she once dreamed of becoming country singer. She performed in “Opryland USA” stage productions as a teen before starring in “Glee” and Broadway hits “Wicked,” “Promises, Promises” and “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

On “Some Lessons Learned,” her vocal and musical training shows on the clear diction she brings to power ballads and big-beat country pop. But country music embraces personality as well as talent, and Chenoweth doesn’t establish any identity of her own. She also leans too hard on message songs — “I Was Here,” “Fathers And Daughters,” “Borrowed Angels” — that come across as formulaic, rather than emotionally stirring.

Veteran rock producer Bob Ezrin uses Nashville musicians, but his arrangements don’t blend country and rock elements with the skill of today’s successful country producers.

Chenoweth has her moments, as in the conversational “God And Me.” But unlike fellow Broadway belter Laura Bell Bundy, who also has entered the country-music sweepstakes, Chenoweth doesn’t quite make the transition with the same aplomb she’s shown in tackling other challenges.

— Michael McCall, Associated Press

WILD FLAG

Album: “Wild Flag”

Grade: A

Finally, Sleater-Kinney fans still grieving after the great Portland punk trio went on “extended hiatus” in 2006 have something loud, boisterous and melodic to celebrate. Although the new supergroup Wild Flag includes members of indie-rock bands Helium and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, S-K alumni Carrie Brownstein (now co-starring in the IFC’s funny “Portlandia”) and Janet Weiss are clearly directing this orderly mess. The guitars bump and shake, Weiss’ drums bash and Brownstein screeches funny rock ’n’ roll things like “I’m a racehorse! Yeah, I’m a racehorse! You put your money on me!”

— Steve Knopper, Newsday

Pajama Club

Album: “Pajama Club”

Grade: B

Admit it. Anytime you hear a rock star is doing a project with his wife, your first instinct is to run in the other direction. Fast.

Pajama Club is one of those side dishes — but we listened instead of ran. Crowded House leader Neil Finn and his wife, Sharon, found themselves empty nesters and reacted by picking up instruments. Neil sits behind the drums for the first time, Sharon picks up a bass guitar and they invited a friend known for his electronica music (Sean Donnelly) along.

Sharon shares vocals with her husband and as a singer, she’s a fine boutique owner. But this disc has a certain let-your-hair-down, lo-fi charm to it. It allows plenty of pressure-free time to experiment; “Go Kart” sounds closer to Kraftwerk than Crowded House ever will. Neil’s melodic sense never goes away, either. It’s burned into the Finn DNA.

Just don’t go in expecting depth or polish. It wasn’t the point.

— David Bauder, Associated Press