Cate Le Bon

Cate Le Bon

Album: “Reward”

Grade: B+

On her fifth solo album, Welsh eccentric performer Cate Le Bon continues to expand her own enchanted musical realm. “Reward” is a touch more direct than past releases but shares the same subversive grace.

The record’s first line – “decorate the new discord” – acts not only as a motif but speaks to the subtle depth that lies within. From there, a subdued saxophone flirts with a flared synth and Le Bon’s pillow-y harmonies. Her voice is both expressive and airy and her accent accentuated when she sings.

On “The Light,” Le Bon discloses “I don’t need the poetry” but her introspection doesn’t agree. Even when just “mouthing the words” about “half-used” intentions, a state of “occasional bloom” is depicted.

At times she seems impenetrable, at others an aching vulnerability is revealed – at one point determining: “I’m a cross hair.” The intricate hooks also reveal themselves gradually, popping out of nowhere or unfurling deceptively.

A distinct sense of place and universality are both at play. That dichotomy is part of the draw. “Home to You” details the complicated nature of residence, redefining the concept as “an impasse under hallway ceilings” or a “drink from borrowed cups.”

The instrumental palette is just as whimsical. Elliptical keyboards flutter on buoyant basslines. A dewy slide adorns “Sad Nudes.” “Mother’s Mother’s Magazines” reads like a Kinks’ title and starts out like a song from The Fall before easing back for a brass excursion. “Magnificent Gestures” raises the pulse. With an assist from Kurt Vile, Le Bon ruminates on a “teacher’s laugh” before torpedoing guitar shards take it all down.

“Daylight Matters” is the one to put on repeat. A sultry, almost disco sway meant for late afternoon drifting. Most of this is so pretty it could float around in the background without another thought. But the acute listener is rewarded.

–Jake O’Connell, Associated Press

Justin Rutledge

Album: “Passages”

Grade: B

Justin Rutledge stands in a strong tradition of literate Canadian singer-songwriters – think Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell or the late Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip. Like the Hip, whose Rob Baker plays guitar on Rutledge’s new album, he deserves to be better known outside his homeland.

Rutledge’s roots are in alt-country, and like the best country songwriters he has a knack for lyrics full of doubt and loss, set to jaunty tunes. It’s angst you can hum along to.

On “Passages,” his eighth studio album, Rutledge worked with a new band and producer Chris Stringer (Timber Timbre, the Wooden Sky). Guitar-dominated, but seasoned with piano and strings, the album sometimes achieves an Eagles-y Californian vibe: layered and ambient, with an intoxicating sheen.

There’s a languid melancholy to songs like “Captive” and “Weight of the World,” while the title track is a wistful love song delivered with Beatles-esque strings.

Rutledge has a gift for lyrics that are simultaneously mysterious and vivid, and while his songs are often introspective, they are also fun. He rocks out enjoyably on the spirited, slide guitar-fueled “Good Man” – the first single – and the self-questioning anthem “Chains.”

There has always been a strong literary strain in Rutledge’s songs, and his latest album ends with “Boats,” a track co-written by Booker Prize-winning novelist Michael Ondaatje. But banish any fears that “literary” means “pretentious.”

Lyrically and melodically gripping, “Passages” is the musical equivalent of a page-turner.

–Jill Lawless, Associated Press

LISE DAVIDSEN

Album: “Lise Davidsen”

Grade: A

For a young singer as prodigiously gifted as Lise Davidsen, there’s always a danger she’ll be pressured into taking on too much too soon. Judging from the Norwegian soprano’s first solo album, she’s steering clear of that pitfall.

Only 32, Davidsen is being hailed as the next great Wagnerian soprano because of her clarion, multicolored voice with its seemingly unlimited capacity to soar over heavy orchestration. The twin peaks of that repertory – Isolde and Brunnhilde – surely await her, yet on this album she has wisely chosen only works she’s already performed onstage.

–Mike Silverman, Associated Press