Record Reviews

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Album: “Let Me Get By”

Grade: A+

It’s barely 2016, but the Tedeschi Trucks Band has already released one of the great records of the year.

The band, led by the husband-and-wife team of singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi and guitar hero Derek Trucks, masters a wide range of styles and sounds on “Let Me Get By,” from Memphis soul to R&B to blues and funk.

For years one of the premier American live acts, TTB’s third studio album reflects the hundreds of days on the road. Not the endless bus rides or the monotonous hotel rooms but the ease with which the 12 musicians gel and the energy and depth they bring.

The songs grew out of collective jams and tour rehearsals. Produced by Trucks, the album achieves a wonderful sonic balance, and each tune offers multiple layers to discover.

There’s excellent musicianship throughout, but Tedeschi’s steaming yet never overwhelming vocals, bassist Tim Lefebvre and Kofi Burbridge’s keyboard arsenal deserve special mention.

Check out echoes of the Allman Brothers on opening cut “Anyhow” or the Al Green-meets-Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan combination of “Crying Over You/Swamp Raga,” which fuses a soulful melody drenched with strings and horns with a Qawwali-like coda.

—Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press

The Cult

Album: “Hidden City”

Grade: B+

The Cult has had its ups and downs over the more than 30 years since its debut. “Hidden City” shows the band climbing new heights.

Led by mystically inclined singer and lyricist Ian Astbury and down-to-earth, riff generating guitarist Billy Duffy, the band’s 10th album, “Hidden City,” rocks fiercely but leaves room for both a heavy heart and a light touch.

Samples of the rip-roaring drive include opening cut “Dark Energy,” “No Love Lost” and “G O A T,” drummed into submission by John Tempesta.

“Deeply Ordered Chaos” reflects on last year’s Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, with strings underscoring the drama as Astbury’s brief, repetitive phrases also draw attention to the tragedy in Syria.

—Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press