Albums of the Week
Prince
"Art Official Age"
★★ ½
The first part of Prince's double-pronged comeback comes in the shape of "Art Official Age," which finds the Minnesotan treading on familiar ground. Of his two albums, this is the one that will please older fans more, thanks to the white-hot funk of "The Gold Standard" and sexy slow-jams, such as "This Could Be Us."
Prince manages to contemporize slightly on "Funknroll," which sounds like a reimagining of his classic "Housequake" — but with added EDM-style synths.
There's not a chance of "Art Official Age" even being mentioned in the same breath as his peerless '80s work, but there's still more than enough quality here to ensure Prince stays godlike to his devotees — if not the wider world.
3rdEyeGirl
"Plectrumelectrum"
★★
If "Art Official Age" is for the fans, its companion album "Plectrumelectrum" is where Prince takes a moment or two to indulge himself. With the aid of his all-female band, 3rdEyeGirl, Prince allows the rock 'n' roll star within to come to the surface.
The results are surprisingly uneven; the riffs fly on the absurdly fun "Pretzelbodylogic," and "Fixurlifeup" channels a '90s grunge influence, but the group also has a frustrating habit of falling into pedestrian ballads such as "Tictactoe."
Anyone who's come across the wonder of Prince playing live recently will know that 3rdEyeGirl is the key to his current renaissance, so it's slightly disappointing to hear that isn't replicated quite as well on "Plectrumelectrum."
Downloads of the Week
Tove Lo
"This Time Around"
★★ ½
The best moment on Tove Lo's debut album "Queen of Clouds" mirrors the emotion of her breakthrough hit "Habits." The Swedish singer captures heartbreak beautifully once again with the ghostly synth-pop of album cut "This Time Around."
She'll find happiness one day — but let's hope it's not anytime soon.
Gerard Way
"Millions"
★
There was always something unconvincing about Gerard Way's angst-ridden vocals when he fronted Jersey emo-rockers My Chemical Romance. Now that he's going solo, it's even harder to believe his reinvention as a glam rocker.
His debut album, "Hesitant Alien," isn't completely without spark, but on tracks such as "Millions," his decision to act on his British-rock fantasies leaves him sounding like a bargain basement Bowie.
Lucinda Williams
"West Memphis"
★★★
For a 61-year-old to release a double album is no mean feat, but for Lucinda Williams to sound so consistently good over the course of the two discs that make up "Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone" is remarkable.
The standouts are many, but the chilling way that her worn voice delivers the bluesy, brutal "West Memphis" — inspired by the case of the West Memphis Three — means it lingers long after she's finished.
Blake Shelton
"Just Gettin' Started"
★★
There are a lot of songs on Shelton's latest album, "Bringing Back the Sunshine," that are about being drunk and sad. But with its blasting drums and honky-tonk piano, "Just Gettin' Started" finds the "Voice" coach kicking back for once and letting the good times roll.
You don't necessarily need to be a country fan to join in, either.
Thom Yorke
"The Mother Lode"
★★
To the interest of almost no one except hard-core Radiohead fans, Thom Yorke quietly released his second solo album, "Tomorrow's Modern Boxes," last week via BitTorrent.
Of all its impressionistic electronic sketches, "The Mother Lode" feels the most substantial, thanks to a stop-start bass throb, ringing piano loops and Yorke's unsettling vocals. But even with all that going for it, it would be a stretch to call it a "song."
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