But this nine-minute highlight of his new double CD “While (1<2)” has a tautness and snap that immediately stand out, both from his earlier work and the rest of the EDM slush pile.Įnglishman Gray’s been around for more than 20 years, but the single from his ninth album, “Mutineers,” sounds surprisingly spry for modest singer-songwriter folk rock. “Maps,” ahead of the September-slated Maroon 5 album “V,” is exactly what you’d imagine: mid-tempo pop-rock that lets Levine show off the top of his range - nothing surprising or unique about it.ĭance producer Deadmau5’s long-building tracks have often gone nowhere in particular. “The Voice” has put Adam Levine on TV so much, it’s easy to forget he’s got a band. Rather than a grand declaration, it feels modest and lived-in, from the deeply wry “I Thought I Left You” (“You’re like the measles,” he memorably complains), to the philosophical bent of opener “Bring It On”: “It’s written in the good book/That we’ll never be asked to take any more than we can/Sounds like a good plan.” Sounds good, period. But he’s still searching for something new with “Band of Brothers,” his first album of mostly original new material in ages. What’s left for Willie Nelson to prove? At 81, the country-music titan has earned his legendary status too many times to count. This follow-up to 2012’s “Born To Die” is even slower and more ponderous - an echo-laden, narcotic pastel slush perfectly matched by “are-you-kidding?” lyrics like “I’ve got feathers in my hair/I get down to Beat poetry,” from “Brooklyn Baby,” and “I can’t do nothing about his strange weather,” from “Shades of Cool” - the only decent song here (thanks to the music and singing).Įverything else just evaporates on contact. Mostly, she offers blank, sullen fantasies of being glamorously screwed up - a narrow canvas that feels paint-by-number. The idea that Lana Del Rey’s cinematic retro-pop is unique conveniently ignores everything from Gnarls Barkley to Adele.

New lana del rey album