Billboard CD reviews: Devo, Meat Loaf, Toni Braxton

ARTIST: DEVO

ALBUM: SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Devo's ninth studio album, "Something for Everybody," is more than the new wave art rockers' first record in 20 years -- it's an ongoing multimedia performance-art-project-slash-marketing-campaign designed to reintroduce the band as "DEVO Inc." with engaging and hilarious commentary on American corporate culture and conformity. The album's 12 tracks were chosen through a crowd-sourced "Song Study" and are true to the band's longstanding formula of synth-and-guitar jolts, hyper-catchy riffs and winking comment on the human condition. While there's a uniformity across the tracks in tempo and vibe, first single "Fresh" booms out of the gate with an unforgettable refrain, and "Please Baby Please" and "Human Rocket" have a bounce and crunch made for the gym or dance floor. "Step Up" is hard-beating and inspirational compared with the slight cynicism of political disco jam "Sumthin'." There's also a contemporary fullness and distortion in the album's production that updates Devo's sound without sacrificing its unmistakable essence.

ARTIST: MEAT LOAF

ALBUM: HANG COOL TEDDY BEAR (Roadrunner/Loud & Proud Records)

With Rob Cavallo, who produced Green Day's 2004 rock opera, "American Idiot," onboard, it's no surprise that Meat Loaf's "Hang Cool Teddy Bear" is fit for the stage. But while old-school rap nods and blunt lyricism add to the set's allure, its fluidity suffers. More familiar-sounding Meat Loaf cuts like "Did You Ever Love Somebody" punctuate such rebellious tracks as the punky "Peace on Earth" ("The only thing you can count on in this life is regret"). The song "Love Is Not Real" is infused with compassion, while the raunchy "Like a Rose" reflects a cliched rock star attitude ("It doesn't really matter that she isn't 21/'Cause she's always backstage when the band gets done"). And on the hip-hop-flavored "Los Angeloser," the veteran rocker introduces a scratch-laden beat with a dispassionate "yo" before incorporating more slang, proving he's as progressive as he is wistful.

ARTIST: TONI BRAXTON

ALBUM: PULSE (Atlantic Records)

In recent years, Toni Braxton has had label issues, health problems and other difficulties that put her music career on hold. Five years after her last release, "Libra," the 42-year-old singer is back with her sixth studio album, "Pulse," full of a whole other dilemma: men. On the song "Yesterday," Braxton breaks up with her partner, singing, "You are so yesterday, won't let you rain on my parade," and she complains about abandonment on "Woman," where she warns over a slinky production, "I hope that you don't wake up when it's too late to make up." On top of a pulsating beat, the title track finds the singer hopeful and "not giving up on love." When Braxton isn't sulking about heartbreak, she's enjoying being a woman. Atop hand claps on "Lookin' at Me," she flirts with a clubgoer, and over the piano strokes of "Hands Tied," she reassures her man that she can "love him with her hands tied."

ARTIST: MATT KENNON

ALBUM: MATT KENNON (BamaJam Records)

Matt Kennon got his first taste of acceptance in country music when Randy Travis recorded his song "Turn It Around." On Kennon's self-titled debut, the artist demonstrates there's as much substance and emotion in his singing as in his songwriting. There's a gritty soulfulness that resonates warmly in such tunes as "The Man I Used to Be," and it serves him even better on honest declarations like "Some People Piss Me Off." The opener, "Drive It Like You Stole It," is a high-octane number that encourages living every moment to the fullest, while single "The Call" is a poignant ballad about the power of a phone call. (In the first verse, a man who's about to commit suicide puts the gun down when he gets a call from his best friend, and the second verse involves a teenage girl about to have an abortion.) With a distinctive voice that won't be confused with anyone else on country radio, Kennon has delivered a potent album that makes him a newcomer to watch.

ARTIST: ANA TIJOUX

ALBUM: 1977 (Nacional Records)

Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux's latest album, "1977," is titled for the year she was born, and it plays like the diary of a young woman. An introspective lyricist with a low voice that makes the listener want to lean in closer, Tijoux has only her thoughts to reveal. But she does so with conviction, whether musing about happiness ("Humanidad"), laying down a heartbreak confessional ("Mar Adentro") or getting autobiographical on the standout title track. Her personal universe encompasses hip-hop existentialism ("Crisis de un MC") and broader social consciousness ("Sube," "Avaricia"). A laid-back mix of hip-hop, jazz, reggae and R&B -- which perhaps provides too weak a background for a strong personality -- backs Tijoux on the set. A star of Santiago's hip-hop scene, she's probably best known for appearing on Julieta Venegas' song "Eres Para Mi." And during a recent U.S. tour, she was tabbed as Latin America's leading female MC. But Tijoux is an artist with the promise to cross borders and genres.

ARTIST: BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY

ALBUM: UNI-5: THE WORLD'S ENEMY (Reprise/Asylum Records)

The original members of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (including longtime collaborator DJ U-Neek, who was absent from the group's 2007 album, "Strength & Loyalty") have reunited for the first time in 15 years to record its newest set, "Uni-5: The World's Enemy." And the rap outfit has one message to deliver: Haters, take heed. "Smiling in my face, hating on the side, they don't wanna see me shine," the members rap over a simple piano line on the motivational "See Me Shine." On top of a repetitive keyboard pattern, the group continues calling out naysayers on the upbeat "Everytime," spitting, "I can't turn my back around without these haters tryin' to shut me down." The group gets a bit more insightful on tracks like "Wanna Be" -- about women selling themselves for fame -- and "My Life," which finds the rappers reflecting on the struggles they've faced.

ARTIST: FLYING LOTUS

ALBUM: COSMOGRAMMA (Warp Records)

Flying Lotus' third album, "Cosmogramma," is a strangely cohesive amalgam of exotic sounds. On the new set, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2008 album "Los Angeles," the underground California beat-head balances the futuristic sounds of warbling synths and the natural purr of a live harp. Flying Lotus' appeal lies in his ability to seamlessly combine disparate sounds. Starting with a dance-worthy bass and hand clap before launching into a soaring Eastern melody backed by the buzz of a synthesizer, "Do the Astral Plane" is the closest song on the album to a radio single. "Arkestry" drops the heavy rhythms for a track with free jazz sensibilities; "MmmHmm" is a lullaby set to the chatter of cutlery; and "Table Tennis" uses a bouncing ping-pong ball for percussion and includes the ghostly singing of frequent collaborator Laura Darlington. "Cosmogramma" may evade complete comprehension, but its colorful arrangements entice even the most casual listener.

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