Songs tell story of emotions in a relationship

“The Last Five Years”
Various Artists
(Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight)

Hollywood went to two actors with Broadway backgrounds to star in the film version of the musical “The Last Five Years” -- and it paid off.
Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan star as a young New York couple who fall in, and then out, of love. She’s a struggling actress. He’s a writer who finds success. Both Kendrick and Jordan have Tony Award nominations on their resumes, and they have perfect voices for the sometimes emotional lyrics, which trace the couple’s relationship in an inventive way.
The soundtrack keeps all the production’s songs, some bright and bubbly and others sad and somber. Kendrick and Jordan let the emotions come through their singing voices. He tells her, growling with anger, “No one will give you courage. No one can thicken your skin.” Earlier on, in a despondent tone, she sings that she’s “covered with scars I did nothing to earn.”
“The Last Five Years” isn’t a show filled with catchy tunes, but it does want to take you through thoughtfully written songs that tell the story of all of the emotions that go into a relationship. Let them. (AP)



Father John Misty remains muddled on ‘Honeybear’

Father John Misty
“I Love You, Honeybear”
(Sub Pop)

Singer-songwriter Father John Misty’s meandering musical career seems to have settled reasonably well in the solo realm. His latest album, “I Love You, Honeybear,” offers a lush look at love, life and the curiosities that complicate it all.
Joshua Tillman, who performs as Father John Misty, sings beautifully when he’s not singing too much on the often wordy 11-track album. The lyrics are heavy, and perhaps only the literary cognoscenti will catch all his nuances.
If there’s a post-sadcore movement these days, Misty is its likely leader. He pens disaffected lyrics about relationships gone wrong and knows who to blame for their undoing. But often there’s barely any room for the music to breathe, as on “I Love You, Honeybear” and “Chateau Lobby No. 4.”
When Misty does pause for air, he’s fine on standout songs like “Bored in the USA.” (AP)



‘Fifty Shades’ soundtrack is a sexy romp

‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists
(Republic Records)

Prepare to get crazy in love, in lust and everything in between. Anticipated sex romp “Fifty Shades of Grey” may or may not get you wound up, but its soundtrack is bound to do just that. The 16-track album finds itself mired in an intoxicating sound that gets its potency from a mix of rock gods’ electric guitars, masterful reworkings of recent hits and electro pop beats so slithery, you’ll bite the forbidden apple.
Beyonce leads the lineup of artists with an achingly erotic rendition of one of her biggest hits, “Crazy in Love,” and a hypnotic dubstep remix of her more recent hit “Haunted.” Canadian singer The Weeknd whips up two acts of purposeful seduction in “Earned It” -- a slow-dripping R&B tune that burns through the clothes -- and “Where You Belong,” a similarly hay-rolling melody.
This is 16 shades of blatant auditory manipulation, almost every second of it lovable.
 
(AP)