New albums: Madisen Ward & Mama Bear; Jamie Foxx; Vaccines

Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear

Skeleton Crew

(Glass Note ***

nolead ends For heartwarming appeal, it's hard to top Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, the son and mother duo who were playing Kansas City coffeehouses a year ago and who have since performed on The Late Show with David Letterman and become the darlings of the NPR set. Son Madisen has a joyous, playful folk-singing voice: His burly baritone recalls Paul Robeson and can fill up a room quickly, even when accompanied only by his and his mother Ruth's acoustic guitars. Producer Jimmy Abbiss adds subtle touches here and there to flesh out the sound, but essentially he gets out of mother and son's way on a set of songs often quite catchy, with the lead single "Silent Movies" and "Daisy Jane" being the principal toe-tappers. Things get satisfying and serious toward the end, however, on "Undertaker and Juniper" and in particular "Down in Mississippi," a powerfully sorrowful story-song in which mother and son exchange verses while singing about America's legacy of racial injustice and suffering.

- Dan DeLuca

nolead begins Jamie Foxx
nolead ends nolead begins Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses
nolead ends nolead begins (JB Entertainment/RCA ***

nolead ends This Hollywood story has nothing to do with Jamie Foxx's famed film career, seemingly on pause since 2014's heavy release schedule of event movies such as Annie, Horrible Bosses 2, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Perhaps Foxx slowed his film work to concentrate on this deep and occasionally danceable tale of love, sex, loss, sex, travel, and sex.

Foxx's voice is exquisitely suited to the subtle shadings of romance and the loud pronouncements of sensuality. He takes love slow and nasty on a tune like "Text Message" (produced by Philly's Vidal Davis) and makes the party impolite on humorous cuts such as "Socialite." There are the standard, smooth R&B/rough-rap pairings throughout this Hollywood affair: the thrumming "Like a Drum" (with Jerry Seinfeld's buddy Wale), the smoky "On the Dot" (with Fabolous), and the buoyant "Baby's in Love" (with Kid Ink). Mostly, Foxx is a soulful, baritone lover man who does his best when paired with like-minded singer-speaker Chris Brown (an absolutely charming "You Changed Me") or high-pitched vocalist/producer Pharrell (an aptly titled "Tease"). He is also good at taking love's rough ride all on his own during the reflective ballad "In Love by Now."

- A.D. Amorosi

nolead begins The Vaccines
nolead ends nolead begins English Graffiti
nolead ends nolead begins (Columbia **1/2)

nolead ends The Vaccines are one of countless British rock bands saddled by the U.K. media with the expectation of saving rock and roll. The reckless rock on their first two albums, 2011's cheekily titled What Do You Expect From the Vaccines? and 2012's Come of Age couldn't live up to the hype - what could? - but they were nonetheless brazen and fun. English Graffiti, on the other hand, reveals a band with an identity crisis.

Produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, Sleater-Kinney), the record dabbles in glammy football chants ("Handsome"), trudging synth-pop ("Dream Lover"), and Duran Duran-like new wave ("Minimal Affection"). Those are the first three of 12 tracks that slip all over the place without resting comfortably anywhere. There's some fun stuff here, mostly when the Vaccines turn up the velocity and the guitars on "20/20" and "Radio Bikini," but much of English Graffiti rings hollow.

- Steve Klinge

Alesso, Forever; The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman; The Vaccines, English Graffiti; AntiFlag, American SpringEndText