Brown’s ‘Fortune’ is patchy album

Chris Brown
“Fortune”
(RCA Records)

One of the best songs on Chris Brown’s new album is a soft number, “Don’t Judge Me,” that finds him asking a girlfriend to look past his mistakes.

“So please don’t judge me, because it can get ugly, before it gets beautiful,” he sings in his signature semi-high pitch.

For another singer, such a tune might come off as just another relationship plea. But coming from the bad boy singer whose career is nearly restored after his attack on Rihanna three years ago, it seems like a cry for understanding to the whole world and makes him sound vulnerable and appealing.

When Brown opens up, he’s the best version of himself. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of those songs to make “Fortune,” the 23-year-old’s fifth album, a must have (it’s the follow up to last year’s Grammy-winning “F.A.M.E.”).

The album veers from hip-hop flavored party jams to electronic, pulsating tracks meant for laser light shows to more emotional fare. The album suffers from Brown’s cocky rap-talk and the computerized noises that drown out today’s dance songs.

One of the highlights is “4 Years Old.” Like “Don’t Judge Me,” it is soft and slow, with Brown recalling his childhood, singing: “Feels like I‘m 4 years old all over again, because I’m just running fast, I should be walking, saying when I grow up you gon’ see, I’m gon’ be comfortable and happy.”

But most of the other tracks are mediocre, and those that standout — like “Biggest Fan” and “2012” — suffer from the album’s lack of flow and patchy feel. But production may also be the blame: The 14-track set is overloaded with too many producers and songwriters. Sometimes “Fortune” feels like a mixtape.

Check this track out: “Party Hard/Cadillac” is an amazing five-minute combination of two songs. It starts off groovy and bouncy before transitioning to an even better jam that features doo-wops, finger snaps and one of Brown’s best vocal performances

(AP)


Flo Rida drowns on ‘Wild Ones’

Flo Rida
“Wild Ones”
(Atlantic Records)

Flo Rida has never been the main attraction on his own records: He’s best known for his collaborations with other artists. His first hit, “Low,” co-starred T-Pain, and subsequent ones like “In the Ayer” featuring will.i.am and “Right Round” with Ke$ha should have been an indication of the extent of his range, which is pretty limited.

On his new nine-track album, “Wild Ones,” he takes even more of a back seat than usual. But that’s not the only problem: some of the tracks “contain elements” of various songs, making the album sound like something you’ve heard before — many times.

“Wild Ones” sounds like it accidentally ingested beats from David Guetta or Pitbull; it’s a confused mesh of rock, rap and dance music. Not even the J. Lo-assisted “Sweet Spot” stands out from the crowd of diluted European dance sounds. The title track is somewhat enjoyable, but that‘s thanks to Sia’s performance on its hook.

“Whistle,” the album’s third single, is slightly danceable, but the metaphor it presents for dark corner activity doesn’t even come close to the catchiness of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop,” a gem of sexual innuendo.

The album’s worst offender is the international hit “Good Feeling.” It samples Etta James’ “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” — but it’s sonically identical to the dance jam “Levels” by Swedish DJ-producer Avicii. Side effects from listening to the tune might include a chronic case of déjà vu and confusion.

Check this track out: “Thinking of You” is smooth and calm, almost like a reverie

(AP)


‘Once’ star familiar in solo album

Glen Hansard
“Rhythm and Repose”
(Anti-)


That Glen Hansard is only now releasing a solo album after two decades feels like something of a technicality. “Rhythm and Repose” will seem familiar for both fans of his Irish rock band The Frames and latecomers who didn‘t stumble on his brood-then-belt style until his starring role in the 2006 indie smash film “Once,” which earned him an Academy Award for songwriting.

In his past projects, Hansard wrote most of the music. Here he finally gets sole billing for a new batch of restrained what-went-wrong songs, but without the slow burns to purges of wailed angst that’s set his career apart.

There are exceptions. “Bird of Sorrow” plinks around on a piano before Hansard rips “I’m not leaving” to rattle the slow ballad. “High Hope” delivers a more satisfying scream-a-long. “What Are We Gonna Do” is a quiet chiller on an album that includes Marketa Irglova, Hansard’s “Once” co-star and sidekick in The Swell Season.

Hansard tours the U.S. later this year with Eddie Vedder, whose own recent solo album after 20 years fronting Pearl Jam was a ukulele-strumming getaway from his day job. But Hansard’s still on the clock. As the former Dublin street busker reminisces in the country downer “Maybe Not Tonight,” this first solo plunge is merely echoes of another time.

(AP)