Elle Varner is a restlessly inventive writer, and a singer with a sweetly gritty voice reminiscent of Keyshia Cole and Macy Gray. She mostly sticks to love and loss, but she devises nifty twists, from the slurred chorus of "Refill," to being too shy to speak to a crush on "Not Tonight." On "So Fly," she's a woman who frets over her body measurements, like TLC's "Unpretty." The one thing keeping Varner's debut Imperfect is the production: Save for the Biz Markie-inspired percussion on "Only Wanna Give It To You," its R&B-by-numbers can't keep pace with her outstanding lyrics.
Adam Young branches out from his usual one-man show to enlist the help of co-writers and outside producers for the first time -- and the gamble pays off. For "Shooting Star" he turned to Matt Thiessen (Relient K), Stargate (Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa) and Robopop (Maroon 5), while the rocker "Dementia" features Blink-182's Mark Hoppus and documents the dark side of sudden fame. The kids will go crazy for the peppy, Glee-ready track "Good Time," a duet with Carly Rae Jepsen, but the album overall remains true to the synth-driven, melodic pop sound that won Owl City fans in the first place.
If this were anyone other than Nelly Furtado, we'd swear Spirit Indestructible was the sound of a major identity crisis. Guests like Nas and Cape Verdean singer Sara Tavares, and themes from big hoops to Arab Spring are set in a wild sonic spectrum: club beats, folksy alt-pop, sexy hip-hop, Asian synth-strings ("Miracles") and a kind of kuduro-disco-alt-JLo pastiche ("Waiting for the Night"). Nelly's always small voice feels lost in the shuffle, almost as if the eclecticist herself isn't sure where she wants to go after trying out funky hippie, club seductress and Latin pop diva. Almost.
We can't believe we're going to say this, but Perez Hilton is so ... tasteful. Well, at least the Queen of Media's curated a very solid selection of tracks here. His first official tastemaker comp sounds like a party we'd like to attend: VanJess works an old-school Rihanna groove, and Alphabeat goes full-on '80s pop. And the beats! Revel in the slip'n'slide production helmed by Estonia's resident weirdo, Kerli. And the sass! Even the Cataracs get shady and Kat Graham is a fierceness to be reckoned with. Things get a little after-hours-monotonous by the end, but all in all, a fabulous affair.
As part of her regular-guy accessibility, Pink's rock star appeal hinges on the fact that she doesn't act like one so much as parties like one. True to form, on The Truth, our foul-mouthed, hard-drinking everywoman does the "Walk of Shame"; waxes sarcastic about whiskey dicks; and generally pours her guts out. But she does it over some of her most interesting songs. Sure, there are strutting anthems about relationships and weekends. But there are also shivery duets ("Try"), malt-shop pop, stalking guitars and "Where Did the Beat Go?," a strange, sprawling mess that Pink sings the crap out of.
Though Guy Sigsworth is back in the producer's chair (with an assist from Joe Chiccarelli), Havoc and Bright Lights feels far less steeped in turmoil than he and Morissette's last effort together, 2008's Flavors of Entanglement (a break-up album of sorts for the singer). In fact, there's very little havoc to be found on the lead single "Guardian" or "'Til You" or "Empathy" or just about any other tune. The lone exceptions are "Celebrity," an electro-pop meditation on fame and the Babylonian evils that accompany it, and "Numb," a hard rocker that sounds like Sarah Brightman gone grunge-pop.
Two years isn't long, but the world of R&B has shifted since Trey Songz's 2010 album Passion, Pain and Pleasure, thanks to Frank Ocean's wild experiments and Usher's EDM-R&B fusions. Trey seemed primed for a similar creative breakthrough with 2011's promising EP Inevitable, but he's reverted to formula on Chapter V. That's not a bad thing when it comes to sex-drenched bedroom jams like "Dive In," "Heart Attack" and "Playin' Hard." However, avoid the unintentionally disgusting swag rap "Check Me Out," where he claims "I took her panties and I put a pool in it."
When your first big single turns into a resistance-is-futile smash, there's gonna be a wee bit of pressure on your major label debut. So it's understandable that Kiss plays it pretty safe and close to the sugar-crusted pep-pop model that brought Carly Rae Jepsen success, albeit with some stabs at the long game. "Tiny Little Bows," for instance, sketches a musical DNA that includes disco, '80s synth-pop and Sam Cooke, and "Beautiful" is a lovely duet with CRJ's #1 fan, JB. There are some cringe-worthy moments (avoid "Guitar String/Wedding Ring"), but overall, Kiss is as sweet and simple as its name.
Kreayshawn's 15 minutes of fame expired in 2011 when her chirpy Yay Area anthem "Gucci Gucci" drove the Internet nuts. So the worst thing about her debut is that it arrives a year too late. The highlights are "Blasé Blasé," where she flips off her many haters, and "Summertime," where she and V-Nasty describe a drug-fueled vacation in homoerotic terms. (Don't worry, guys -- she quickly adds that she's going "Left Ey3" on her cheating boyfriend.) Though Kreay tries mightily, she's too Twitter-ized to focus for 45 minutes; she should stick to EP-length blasts of energy like Flo Rida.
2 Chainz's solo debut is modest for someone that's benefited from a lot of hype. He's not one to reflect on life beyond the grind of a former crack dealer turned rap star. He has some witty lyrics, like "Let me slow it down fo I get a ticket/ N*gg* want a verse from me it's gonna cost a chicken" on "Crack." But more talented rappers outshine him: His big hit "No Lie" is a Drake song, "Extremely Blessed" is a The-Dream track, and Nicki Minaj takes over "I Luv Dem Strippers." He's at his best on "Crack," "Dope Peddler" and "Money Machine," all standard trap-rap numbers that rattle the speakers.
