Album Reviews | SPIN.com

Chris Brown, "Graffiti" (Jive/Zomba)

Matt Kiser — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:06:13 -0600

On his first album since his infamous altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna, Chris Brown sounds genuinely remorseful. He pleads for forgiveness, understanding, and some time off. (Too bad. Holiday album sales have never been more important.) But Brown doesn't let any of this obstruct a good party. He makes monster club songs. He's comfortable over the bouncy sirens of "Wait" or on "I Can Transform Ya," a typically bombastic Swizz Beats production featuring an energetic yet nonsensical rap from Lil Wayne and brisk, joyful vocals from Brown.

The album's most striking moment is "Fallin' Down." Over a ominous guitar riff, the 20-year-old sings, "It's getting heavy / I think I'm getting ready to break down." It's the most honest moment of his short career. The kid sure needs a vacation.

Mudvayne, 'Mudvayne' (Epic)

Peter Gaston — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:11:23 -0600

"It's getting harder all the time," roars Chad Gray on the new self-titled album by his Illinois alt-metal outfit Mudvayne. That may well be true of the life that Gray leads. But harder all the time definitely isn't the case with Mudvayne's music, which since the band's 2000 debut has gotten progressively handsomer and more melodic: These guys once flailed like a future-prog version of Slipknot (whose Shawn Crahan served as executive producer on L.D. 50), but now their doomy riff-o-rama comes equipped with mellow-bellow butt-rock choruses. Mudvayne even closes with a tender acoustic number that recalls Nirvana's "Something in the Way." The result? Ozzfest for oldsters.

Rihanna, 'Rated R' (Def Jam)

Peter Gaston — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:01:32 -0600

Rihanna is one of our most malleable pop stars. In the last five years she has grown from sunkissed Bajan sweetie to heaving disco queen to, most crucially, bright-eyed and hopeful balladeer.

But she's never been tough. Rated R, Rihanna's first album since her brutal confrontation with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, wants to recast her as a searing woman scorned. It doesn't quite take.

The 21-year-old singer has the sort of even-keeled, toneless voice that's rarely expressive enough to convey fury, and the songs here betray her natural affinity for the shimmering. On the otherwise steely "Hard," she laughably blurts, "Where them bloggas at?" melting any chance at toughness. On "Rockstar 101" with Slash, she works terribly hard to roar about her rocker bona fides. "Got my middle finger up, I don't give a fuck," she mewls so preciously you'd think it was her first time swearing.

Rated R succeeds when Rihanna works to her strengths: mid-tempo, middle American ballads. Working with glittering electro-pop production from Will.i.am, she turns "Photograph" into a tender, tense tale of broken love. On the gorgeous, Justin Timberlake-penned "Cold Case Love," she seems to discover the flip side of "Umbrella." Love sucks, it's true. And for a short moment, Rihanna is tough. She just isn't insisting upon it.

The Bravery, 'Stir the Blood' (Island)

onlineintern — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:50:25 -0600

The Bravery, who emerged in the wake of the early-aughts New York post-punk revival that spawned Interpol and the Strokes, are still positively 14th Street. Their petulantly plagiaristic third album -- mired in singer Sam Endicott's uncharismatic Robert Smith–in-a-wind-tunnel moan (imagine that hair) -- continues to stuff downtown Gotham streets into predictable, rhyming-dictionary couplets. "Red Hands and White Knuckles" notably swoons for Tompkins Square Park, but no matter how many historic locales the band invokes, their New Order and Killers castoffs still sound like the work of meek tourists.

Adam Lambert, 'For Your Entertainment' (19 Recordings/RCA)

Peter Gaston — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:33:54 -0600

The success of former American Idol contestants is measured not only by who helps them, but by what material they get and how well they make it their own. Everyone from Lady Gaga to Muse chips in here with perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package. Flamboyance with a fire underneath, this is mainstream glitz liberated by both guts and chops; the gay equivalent of gospel.

WATCH: Adam Lambert, "Time for Miracles"

50 Cent, 'Before I Self Destruct' (Aftermath/Interscope)

Peter Gaston — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:35:09 -0600

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson said his long-delayed fourth album would be "like a prequel" to his blockbuster 2003 debut Get Rich or Die Tryin' -- in other words, a back-to-basics return to the rapper-mogul's more aggressive roots.

But after 2007's lackluster Curtis and this summer's abysmal War Angel mixtape, not even A-list producers (Dr. Dre, Polow Da Don, Timbaland) and A-list guest stars (Eminem, Ne-Yo, R. Kelly) can bring back Fitty's glory days.

From unsettling babysitter-sex and street-hustling reminiscence "Then Days Went By" to chest-thumping call-to-arms ("I'm not tellin' you to shoot somebody, but...") "Crime Wave," the first half of Before I Self Destruct recalls the nihilistic ferocity of Fitty's legendary pre-fame mixtapes. But Eminem by far out-raps his former protégé on "Psycho," and 50 Cent's crabby sniping at a who's who of hip-hop stars on "So Disrespectful" only underscores his own increasing irrelevance.

The last several tracks shift to the club -- sometimes smoothly (baby-making Ne-Yo duet "Baby By Me"), more often not (baby-mama dis "Do You Think About Me"). Before I Self Destruct starts with 50 Cent literally growling, and it ends, on "Could've Been You," with Kelly crooning about sniffing his own excrement. Both sound equally laughable.

WATCH: 50 Cent, "Baby By Me"

Norah Jones, 'The Fall' (Blue Note)

onlineintern — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:53:46 -0600

Thanks to the involvement of folks like Ryan Adams (who cowrote one song) and Kings of Leon producer Jacquire King, The Fall has been billed as Norah Jones' rock album. In fact, it's something even more surprising: a hot-blooded soul record from the queen of the even keel. In opener "Chasing Pirates," she rides a killer Wurlitzer lick by Roots/Erykah Badu sideman James Poyser, while "Back to Manhattan" describes Jones' breakup with boyfriend-bassist Lee Alexander over a slow-burn funk groove. Who knew ol' S'Norah had it in her?

Them Crooked Vultures, 'Them Crooked Vultures' (DGC/Interscope)

onlineintern — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:03:43 -0600

"Just me and my dead-end friends again," sings Josh Homme on the debut album by Them Crooked Vultures. Homme's pals here aren't exactly of the dead-end variety: In addition to the Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Vultures comprises Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters on drums and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards. (Lemmy must've been busy.) Believe it or not, though, this appealingly lightweight set of funky robo-rock jams actually makes good on Homme's promise; sleazed-out riff bombs like "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" and "Scumbag Blues" (the latter with a killer Clavinet solo) sound like the fruit of some weed-smoky rec-room freak-out. Only, y'know, with three of the world's heaviest hitters instead of your older brother's buddies.

LISTEN: Them Crooked Vultures full album stream

Kid Sister, 'Ultraviolet' (Downtown)

Peter Gaston — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:05:56 -0600

There's been hope for some time that Melisa "Kid Sister" Young could resurrect that ever-struggling subset known as the female rapper. Her relentless bark -- like a crocodile clomping its jaw shut, swallowing tracks whole -- instantly made her a commanding and charming spitfire back in 2006. But rather than go fierce, Kid Sis has gone house, crafting a debut that's high on her Chicago hometown's pulsating synthetic beats ("Right Hand Hi") and '80s freestyle reinventions ("You Ain't Really Down"), but low on chiseled rhymes. Move along; no savior to see here.

WATCH: Kid Sister, "Pro Nails (ft. Kanye West)"

Wale, 'Attention: Deficit' (Allido/Interscope)

Peter Gaston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:06:56 -0600

Attention: Deficit is Wale's first official album after numerous online releases, including last year's Seinfeld homage The Mixtape About Nothing. But the Washington, D.C. rapper already feels beset by celebrity. "D.C.'s never seen such progress / So bitches on the scene seem quite stalkish," he observes on "Center of Attention." Seemingly stressed by daily coverage on Nahright.com, he adds, "I wouldn't wish fame on my enemy / Paparazzi's like a lifetime sentencing."

Despite all the Internet notoriety, this is Wale's show-and-prove moment. And somewhat surprisingly, he takes an introspective turn, with songs about unwed mothers ("Be Right"), wayward Lauren Conrads ("90210"), and being dark-skinned ("Shades"). But his best tracks retrace his go-go roots: On "O.G.," the Dap-Kings' horn section swoops over producer Best Kept Secret's crackling rhythms, while mentor Mark Ronson loops a hard funk bass line for "Mirrors." Elsewhere, Wale talks to the ladies over glossy, symphonic pop, though "Chillin'," with Cool & Dre's plodding beat and Lady Gaga's wanna-be-M.I.A. cadences, gets unnecessarily crass.

Straddling the line between street and pop, Attention: Deficit doesn't quite capture the pop zeitgeist. But it sheds light on Wale's evolving personality, and his circuitous story raps reward deep listening. "I asked Mr. West for a little help," he notes (referring to Kanye) on the David Sitek–produced "Triumph." "Realize us new niggas gotta get it ourselves."

WATCH: Wale Live at SPIN Office

Album Reviews | SPIN.com

Chris Brown, "Graffiti" (Jive/Zomba)

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Mudvayne, 'Mudvayne' (Epic)

Rihanna, 'Rated R' (Def Jam)

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The Bravery, 'Stir the Blood' (Island)

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Adam Lambert, 'For Your Entertainment' (19 Recordings/RCA)

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50 Cent, 'Before I Self Destruct' (Aftermath/Interscope)

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Norah Jones, 'The Fall' (Blue Note)

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Them Crooked Vultures, 'Them Crooked Vultures' (DGC/Interscope)

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Kid Sister, 'Ultraviolet' (Downtown)

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Wale, 'Attention: Deficit' (Allido/Interscope)

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