Carly Rae Jepsen’s album ‘Kiss’ is sweet

Carly Rae Jepsen
“Kiss”
(604/Schoolboy/Interscope Records)

The challenge for Carly Rae Jepsen following the monster success of “Call Me Maybe’’ -- arguably 2012’s biggest pop culture moment -- was to steer clear of one-hit wonder status. She did that with another pop smash, the anthem “Good Time,” and Jepsen shows she has even more hits on her second album, “Kiss.”

The Canadian singer, brought to our attention by country-mate Justin Bieber, delivers what fans are probably looking for with the help of Max Martin, Toby Gad and others: more effervescent pop, unencumbered by a plot too thick or societal issues too weighty. Bass lines and hand claps, please and thank you.

“Good Time” features electro-pop singer Owl City, aka Adam Young, and is the heir apparent to the radio-overkill throne. “Hands up if you’re down to get down tonight,” goes the refrain as Young shares microphone time with Jepsen against a heavy backbeat and an echoing chorus of “Ohhhh ohhh ohhh.’’

“Call Me Maybe” is here, of course, and remains the catchiest song of the year. This impossibly cute tune from this impossibly cute singer is all hook, sugary lyrics and lure-the-boy posturing. It’s everything pop hit-makers strive for, delivered to near perfection.

The duds on “Kiss” include “Turn Me Up” and “Tonight I’m Getting Over You.”
They’re both boring ditties about getting over someone by hitting the town. Light toe tapping may ensue, but these are forgettable tracks.

Jepsen redeems herself with the upbeat “This Kiss,” co-written and co-produced by LMFAO’s Redfoo. Her slow duet with Bieber, “Beautiful,” is also a fine track, delivered smartly in a less-is-more production approach that humanizes them both.
(AP)


Nelly Furtado has uber flavor on ‘Spirit’

Nelly Furtado
“The Spirit Indestructible,”
(Universal Music)

Nelly Furtado’s been putting out an album every three years like clockwork since the turn of the century. Her newest release, “The Spirit Indestructible,” is her first English record since 2006 (she went all-out Spanish on 2009’s “Mi Plan”), and it’s a welcome return from the Canadian songstress.

After the commercially successful collaboration with Timbaland on “Loose,” Furtado turns mainly to producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins’ deft hand for an eclectic sound. Her small voice emerges like a towering life force throughout the album, whose themes revolve around nostalgia and celebration of the human spirit.

The record evolves slowly from conventional sounds on the title track to more eerie tracks like “Something,” to the Latin pulse-quickening vibes of “Waiting for the Night” and the languorous retro-like “Circles.” The 33-year-old reminisces about her musical beginnings in “Parking Lot,” finds her teenage strength on first single “Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)” and gets quasi-reflective on “High Life,” the album’s only misstep.

But the album’s best tracks belong to the collaborations: Nas shines on the Salaam Remi-produced “Something,” as does Sara Tavares on the diaphanous “The Most Beautiful Thing,” another Remi production which adds a Middle Eastern tinge to the already worldly collection of songs. All one can say is: “Whoa, Nelly -- here we go again.”

(AP)


Yoakam shows how it’s done on ‘3 Pears’

Dwight Yoakam
“3 Pears”
(Warner Bros.)

Dwight Yoakam’s new album “3 Pears” reunites the veteran Los Angeles musician-actor with Warner Bros. Records, his label home from 1986 to 2001. But the songs continue to look forward and to challenge Nashville’s version of contemporary country music.

Yoakam has focused more on film than music in the last dozen years. But the inventiveness he displayed on mid-career albums such as “This Time” informs his new work as the singer-songwriter blends innovation and traditionalism on “3 Pears” in ways no other country artist does.

Not every experiment works. The psychedelic whimsy of “Waterfall” floats off into free verse and loses its anchor. But the muscular kick Yoakam gives a honky-tonk classic by Joe and Rose Lee Maphis -- which he renames “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, Loud Music” here -- rocks as hard as anything by the young bucks currently ruling country radio’s airwaves.

Rock innovator Beck co-produces two tracks: the echo-laden 1960s throwback “A Heart Like Mine,” and the soulful, stripped-bare acoustic tune “Missing Heart.” Those songs fit perfectly alongside the rest of this wide-ranging album, all produced alone by Yoakam, who remains one of the most consistently interesting country music visionaries of his time.
(AP)