Adele
"21" (Columbia) 3 stars
Two particular songs on "21," Adele's accomplished follow-up to her debut, "19," both named for the age at which she recorded them, marvelously bookend the singer's twin talents for characterization in vocal and pure blowsy strength, the sort that could rip out a cornfield by the roots.
One of those songs, "I'll Be Waiting," highlights Adele's heartbroken resiliency. Produced by Paul Epworth and co-written with Adele, "I'll Be Waiting" is a neo-soul sashay, swishing with confidence and brio, and it inspires the singer to push her vocal expressions into sweet howls reminiscent of Dusty Springfield, another Brit deeply influenced by American nation and soul. "I'll be somebody different," Adele sings, not as concession but as exuberant promise, "I'll be better to you."
It figures then that the other track that gives Adele ample ground for theatrics, albeit of a more moody ilk, is another contribution from Epworth, who's also worked with Cee Lo Green and Florence and the Machine. "Rolling in the Deep," the album's first single, provides Adele with the perfect stormy vessel; her voice tossing and turning, shipwrecked and mad, but never losing control.
There are other worthy tracks on "21," like the Rick Rubin-produced "He Won't Go," with its elegant piano and ticking beat, and the softly sentimental "Turning Tables," but they don't scrape at an exciting greatness the way the other two do. Occasionally, Adele finds herself in lesser territory, like "Don't You Remember," which sounds overwrought in both construction and performance.
Overall, "21" shows that Adele, now 22, is towering in the same landscape where some of her contemporaries, beehived or not, have lost all their bearings. Who knows what damage she'll exact for "30," but let's hope Epworth is along for the ride.
The Low Anthem
"Smart Flesh" (Nonesuch) 31/2 stars
It's too bad the Foo Fighters already called an album "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," because that title perfectly describes the new effort by the Low Anthem. To record the follow-up to 2008's buzz-building "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin," this Rhode Island-based folk-rock outfit set up shop in a former pasta-sauce factory outside Providence; the group's goal was to capture an explicitly handcrafted vibe not often in vogue in these years of Pro Tools and Auto-Tune.
Fortunately, what the Low Anthem accomplished neatly transcends such a conservative impulse: Excepting a couple of Arcade Fire-style stompers, "Smart Flesh" is a gorgeous, inventively arranged set of reverb-rich roots ballads in which the music's frayed edges add emotional weight, not who-cares credibility. Give hushed, slow-rolling songs like "I'll Drive Out Your Ashes" and "Apothecary Love" time to properly unspool, and you'll find yourself swept up in the band's old-fashioned tales of romance and mortality. The soul-endangering threat of our current man-machine moment is unlikely to register.
G. Love
"Fixin' to Die" Grade: B-plus
Garrett Dutton, aka G. Love, has ever been able to turn almost anything into the blues. On "Fixin' to Die" (Brushfire) he turns his talents on everything from a stomping version of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" to a gorgeous acoustic take on The Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes," to a bunch of his own originals, with beneficial results.
Much of the credit should go to The Avett Brothers, who produce the album and work in G. Love's backing band, keeping the arrangements spare and streamlined, unlike some of his occasionally cluttered back catalog.
Hot song
Tinie Tempah dominated the British charts in 2010, even winning two Brit Awards last week. The rapper's American push is start with his British No. 1, "Written in the Stars" (Capitol), a more straightforward pop take on his usually grime-tinged style.
"Stars," which features Eric Turner on the hook, comes across as a British Linkin Park, not quite what Tempah is about overall, but potent enough to get his foot in the door to announce his arrival.
Newsday contributed to this review.
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