record reviews

Mary J. Blige

Album: “Strength of a Woman”

Grade: A

Let’s state the obvious here: Mary J. Blige has a way with hurt. Songs like “Not Gon’ Cry” and “No More Drama” might even prove that Blige is at her best when she’s at her worst.Her latest set, “Strength of a Woman,” supports that almost-fact. Sure, “happy Mary” can make a hit. But “scorned Mary” can make you feel both her pain and your own – every cut, every bruise, every pang of fragile hope.

On “Strength of a Woman,” Blige harnesses that power. Perhaps thanks in no small part to real-life drama with her estranged husband, Martin “Kendu” Isaacs, from whom she filed for divorce last year. Lead single “Thick of It” – one of four heart-wrenching standouts co-written by Jazmine Sullivan – movingly captures Blige torn between staying and walking away.

But in no uncertain terms is Blige as ready to go as on the quietly scathing “Set Me Free,” also co-written by Sullivan. “How you fix your mouth to say I owe you/When you had another [chick] and taking trips.../With my money.” Blige sings, later adding, “There’s a special place in hell for you/You gon’ pay for what you did to me.”

The words are a little startling, but it brings a certain pleasure to hear Blige flexing her emotional muscle against the hurt. She’s down, but she’s not out, as she declares on the Kanye West-assisted “Love Yourself.”

– J. Sims, Associated Press

Gorillaz

Album: “Humanz”

Grade: B

Damon Albarn masterminds a chaotic party on “Humanz,” the fifth album by Gorillaz, the virtual band relying on an extensive guest list, from De La Soul and Peven Everett to D.R.A.M. and Grace Jones.

Across 20 tracks, including five interludes, Albarn creates a beat-heavy soundtrack to Donald Trump’s victory, his nightmare scenario, while excising any direct references to the president. It’s a fractured but powerful album.

Vince Staples sets the political tone with “Ascension,” a dire portrait of a country “where you can get a Glock and a gram for the cheap, where you can live your dreams long as you don’t look like me.” Jamaica’s Popcaan elevates the reggae-inflected “Saturnz Barz,” followed by De La Soul on the insistent “Momentz.”

So where’s Albarn? Everywhere, but especially on the backing tracks. He wrote or co-wrote the songs and performs most of the music but only the reflective “Busted and Blue” is almost him alone.

– Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press