RECORD REVIEWS

Twenty One Pilots

Album: “Trench”

Grade: A

It’s going to be hard for Twenty One Pilots to top the success of their last album. Every tune on “Blurryface” went gold, platinum or, in some cases, multiplatinum – the first album to do so in history. But if anyone’s going to do better, it’s these two guys from Columbus, Ohio.

“Trench,” the 14-track, fifth album from vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun (as well as songwriting help from Paul Meany), is every bit as good as “Blurryface,” continuing the band’s genre-bending trademark of tackling various styles and showcasing a knack for songwriting.

The band comes fast out of the gate with the throbbing bass line of “Jumpsuit” with insecurity in the lyrics (”I can’t believe how much I hate/ Pressures of a new place roll my way”). Then it’s on to Dun’s kinetic drumming on “Levitate,” a blissed-out and terrific “Morph” and The Killers-like, falsetto-fueled “My Blood.” Further ahead, there’s the reggae-tinged “Nico and the Niners,” the ’80s-sounding “The Hype” and the complex, constantly shifting “Bandito.”

We reach peak Twenty One Pilots on “Pet Cheetah,” an exhilarating and daffy tune that namechecks Jason Statham as it mixes techno, rap and rock, along with a healthy dose of reggae and house. No one out there makes music as thrilling as this.

“Trench” is a more low-key album — “Cut My Lip” and “Neon Gravestones” are slow burners — and Joseph and Dun show maturity in not overworking songs, too. The last track, “Leave the City,” is a piano-driven gem with understated drumming and ghostly vocals.

—Mark Kennedy, Associated Press

Eric Church

Album: “Desperate Man”

Grade: B+

Eric Church turned in country music’s album of the year in 2016 and promptly took some time off from releasing new music. Now he’s back with his sixth album “Desperate Man,” displaying the approachable storytelling that his fans expect and Nashville banks on.

Church himself says he initially struggled with the direction of “Desperate Man.” The 11-track offering began with 25 songs and got whittled down to the best that offered “an electric, raw, old soul sound.”

That approach is clearly evident on the album’s gems, such as “Heart Like a Wheel” which would best be described as a “stroll” in a bygone bobby- sox era. “Higher Wire” delivers that aforementioned electricity, heavy with the snarl of reverb guitar work giving way to Church’s familiar voice.

If there is a chink in Church’s armor here it’s that the title track “Desperate Man” sounds a little too much like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” in both the pace and the hook’s refrain. But all is forgiven when the album’s sweetest song arrives with “Hippie Radio,” a heart-warming, coming-of-age track with the common thread of a fading Pontiac. It’s the kind of thing few do better than Church.

—Ron Harris, Associated Press

Steve Perry

Album: “Traces”

Grade: B

Steve Perry has been away for quite a while but he’s never really been gone. From the unforgettable use of “Don’t Stop Believin”’ on the last “The Sopranos” episode to the way his former band found a new, sound-alike singer on the internet and, last year, Journey’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Perry and his prolonged absence have been often on our minds.

“Traces” is Perry’s first solo album since 1994 and, cliched as it may sound, it really is a very personal work with some songs that would have sounded out of place on a Journey record. Made in part to fulfill a promise to his partner who succumbed to breast cancer in 2012, “Traces” is dominated by ballads in many guises by someone whose quasi-operatic voice made him one of their most memorable interpreters.

Launching with the first single, “No Erasin’,” immediately injects “Traces” with nostalgia through an updated recreation of a teenage love with an unerringly precise opening line – “I know it’s been a long time comin’.” Perry has said the song was meant to evoke a high-school reunion and – along with “We’re Still Here” and “Sun Shines Gray” – it’s the one that most resembles a Journey track.

“In The Rain” is the album’s tour de force but sans any bombast, one of Perry’s most emotional vocals supported by a restrained piano-and-strings arrangement emphasizing its anguish.

On “Easy To Love,” Perry’s lead vocals have just a touch of Rod Stewart’s gruffness.

Breaking his long silence in such a memorable way, “Traces” shows that for Perry retuning to music was about much more than keeping his word.

—Pablo Gorondi, Associated Press