New albums: Son Little; Darlene Love; Mac Miller
Before setting out on the non-genre specific 21st-century soul music path that he maps out so effectively here, Philadelphia singer Son Little - né Aaron Livingston - was known for his electro Icebird collaboration with RJD2 and his contributions to hip-h
Son Little
Son Little
(Anti- ***)
nolead ends Before setting out on the non-genre specific 21st-century soul music path that he maps out so effectively here, Philadelphia singer Son Little - né Aaron Livingston - was known for his electro Icebird collaboration with RJD2 and his contributions to hip-hop band the Roots' 2011 album, undun. On Son Little, he can go in an an old-school direction when he chooses - the doo-wop plea "Lay Down" would sound at home on Leon Bridges' more rigorously retro debut album, Coming Home. But for the most part, he's after something less formal and familiar-sounding, mixing organic and electronic textures on songs that rock out with buzzing lead guitar or programmed beats. Little has a tendency to languish at midtempo, and it can be a relief when he picks up the pace - for instance, while seeking sanctification on the holy rolling "The River." The soul music label he'll inevitably be tagged with is really too to restrictive for him, especially at a time when revivalist horn-happy bands are plentiful. But, really, is there a better word to describe such searing pleas as "O Mother," which explores race and identity though such painful questions as "Why do they treat me like I'm not a man? / I wonder, does anybody know just who I am"?
- Dan DeLuca
nolead begins Darlene Love
nolead ends nolead begins Introducing Darlene Love
nolead ends nolead begins (Columbia ***)
nolead ends She's been around, of course, since the early 1960s, when hers was the biggest voice atop Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, even if she was never credited by name. The title of Darlene Love's new album, however, nods to the fact that the powerhouse singer never subsequently achieved the level of solo success her talents warranted. (She even was featured in 20 Feet From Stardom, a 2013 documentary about backup singers.)
With Introducing, producer Steven Van Zandt makes a fresh case for Love by building her another wall of sound to conquer. The arrangements are big and dramatic, full of strings and brass and backup vocalists, and the 74-year-old Love matches their grandeur with thrilling, undiminished power. It helps that Van Zandt gives her a solid collection of songs from writers including himself, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and the team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. She also tackles Spector's monumental "River Deep, Mountain High," originally done by Ike and Tina Turner in 1966.
Van Zandt also reveals another essential dimension of Love by having her revisit her pre-Spector roots with two rousing gospel numbers that close the album.
- Nick Cristiano
nolead begins Mac Miller
nolead ends nolead begins GO:OD AM
nolead ends nolead begins (REMember Music/Warner Bros ***1/2)
nolead ends Pittsburgh's Mac Miller has come some way since 2011's Blue Slide Park, its jolly old-school vibe, and the high-pitched, frat-rappy "Donald Trump." Even 2013's darkly epic Watching Movies with the Sound Off seems distant in comparison to the wise wonk of GO:OD AM. Like a stand-up comedian who has gone from prop comic to humorously tittering essayist (hello, Steve Martin), Miller has progressively found wired-out wit and bleak, smart chuckles amid the rubble.
"Swear to God, I put the 'hero' in heroin," Miller slurs during "100 Grandkids," a blurry anthem that bounces between home comforts and street sleaze. "Brand Name" slows his roll and portrays Miller as trying to mend his mad, childish ways. There's been rehab, death, and forward-facing elements in his real life, all of which grip GO:OD like a chokehold on the touching "God Speed" and the blackly humorous "In the Bag" without becoming preachy. Miller's sonic locution has grown up, as his third album's production is both warmly enveloping and cutting.
- A.D. Amorosi