RECORD REVIEWS

ARIANA GRANDE

Album:, “My Everything”

Grade: B+

Ariana Grande has a great voice. It’s a four-octave marvel that the 21-year-old former Nickelodeon star can take from seductive whisper to booming scream in a matter of seconds.

She just hasn’t quite figured out how to harness all of its power yet. Her debut, “Yours Truly,” from last year didn’t quite use enough of it, too often making her sound like a Mariah Carey wannabe from the “Vision of Love” era. Her new album, “My Everything” (Republic), pushes Grande much harder in all sorts of directions to generally stronger results.

Luckily, Grande sounds good when she’s a little uneasy. On her smash “Problem,” she sounds on edge next to the hip-hop swagger of Iggy Azalea, making the song seem more energetic. She sounds a little freaked out on “Break Free” with Zedd, singing ahead of the beat on his EDM creation, but that ends up serving the vibe as well.

Grande is at her best when she is only nudged from her ballad-loving comfort zone. The gorgeous hip-hop of “Best Mistake,” featuring Big Sean, showcases her wide-ranging voice, without focusing on the upper notes too much. Once she can do this regularly, Grande will be unstoppable.

—Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

Brad Paisley

Album: “Moonshine In The Trunk” (Arista Nashville)

Grade: B

Brad Paisley backs away from social issues and strikes up a party on his 10th studio album, “Moonshine In The Trunk.” However, that doesn’t mean he suddenly starts to play it safe.

Musically, Paisley’s arrangements continue to emphasize intricate musicianship and turn-on-a-dime ensemble play, while his lyrics use witty wordplay to explore the many ways people try to escape their problems and improve their lives.

The veteran country star’s knack for tongue-in-cheek fun comes through on the funky “River Bank,” the fist-pumping “Crushin’ It” and the high-speed hijinks of the title song. Paisley also touts American pride throughout, whether he’s name-checking sports teams and muscle cars on “Country Nation” or toasting the land of opportunity on “American Flag on the Moon.”

As in the past, his ambitious reach sometimes gets the best of him. On the traditional country tune “4WP,” for example, Paisley jams the gears by racing through too many musical ideas too quickly.

Still, 15 years into his career, Paisley is the country singer most likely to crack jokes about a hillbilly family getting rich (“High Life”) or write a sensitive power ballad about a woman breaking through the good-old-boy corporate network (”Shattered Glass”). Which also makes him the country star most likely to make fans smile — and to make them think.

—Michael McCall, Associated Press

Ty Segall

Album: “Manipulator” (Drag City)

Grade: A

In another time and collective mental headspace Ty Segall might have been a pop star.

With his dreamy new album, “Manipulator,” the Los Angeles psych rocker has perfected a sound — the bright, shiny 1960s garage rock variety — that once fired the imagination of a generation. Alas, these days the average 20-something music fan is focused on something quite different. Yet with sheer tenacity, an exhausting release schedule and a gift for fuzz-tone freakout, Segall has navigated his way from cult hero to wider acclaim with spots on the late night television circuit and in glossy fashion magazines.

Segall seizes the moment with “Manipulator,” dispensing with the 27-year-old’s usual fine layer of scuzz for a polished sound that’s been burnished to a high gloss.

There’s an infectious funk on the album’s best tracks, and songs like “Feel,” “Tall Man Skinny Lady,” “The Crawler” and “The Connection Man” avoid mere revivalism with this updated groove, an overall guitar aggression and a very modern sense of paranoia.

—Chris Talbott, Associated Press