Billboard CD reviews

NEW YORK (Billboard) - As a producer more interested in atmospheric sensibilities than technical perfection, Daniel Lanois has masterminded career-defining albums for U2, Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel, often reinventing their sound by adding layers of mystery and depth.

Recorded with jazz drummer Brian Blade and pianist Garth Hudson, Lanois' sixth studio album is an eclectic mix of richly textured rock songs, mellow vibes and hypnotic instrumentals, interspersed with snippets from philosophical conversations with mentor Brian Eno. Ghostly fuzz guitars hover over the title track, and the haunting "Where Will I Be," previously recorded by Emmylou Harris, reveals a soulful songwriter. Though limited in range, Lanois' hushed vocals are pure and soothing on the Dylan-inspired "Not Fighting Anymore," but he seems even more at home in the sublime, wordless waves of his pedal steel guitar.

ARTIST: YAEL NAIM

ALBUM: YAEL NAIM (Tot Ou Tard/Atlantic Records)

Apple scores again with its latest choice for sweet-voiced female ad singer. The airy vocals behind those MacBook Air promos are a French-Israeli import whose spare coffee shop of a U.S. debut feels pleasingly Euro, while maintaining enough spunk to pull off a Britney Spears cover and appeal to the Norah Jones/Sia set. "Yael Naim" is simple, lilting and lovely. Whisper-thin ballad "Lachlom" is near perfect as such things go, and the same goes for the twinkling "Far Far" ("How can you stay outside, there's a beautiful mess inside"), while Naim's cover of "Toxic" is a surprisingly fun trinket that carves a melodic core out of the original's sculpted pop shell. Come for "New Soul," stay for the full meal.

ARTIST: DIONNE WARWICK

ALBUM: WHY WE SING (Rhino Records)

While the several nods to a perfectly realized, contemporary gospel sound ("With All Heart," "I'm Going Up," Kirk Franklin's "Why We Sing") come across just fine on Dionne Warwick's latest, it's the down-home, classic Sunday-morning songs that delight. She shows an unparalleled master's touch on a fervent array of unapologetically seminal gospel ("Old Landmark," "Jesus Loves Me," "Rise, Shine and Give God the Glory"). A stirring celebration from a great talent, still at the top of her form.

ARTIST: DEVOTCHKA

ALBUM: A MAD AND FAITHFUL TELLING (Anti-)

Denver-based Devotchka delivers another batch of aching, spacious and histrionic tunes on "A Mad and Faithful Telling." Still included are sweeping strings and frontman Nick Urata's dusty, quivering narration, taking the ever-crescendoing melodies through alternating universes of international influence, from mariachi to the Balkans. A good example of this is "Transliterator," a hypnotically circular song that has repeating layers of horns and synths underlying Urata's croon. "Basso Profundo" kicks things off with a Quixotic song and beat construction, while "Comrade Z" is sweet but upbeat, arranged with an obvious amount of care. If you've missed out on Devotchka's own music or its contributions to "Little Miss Sunshine," it's about time you tried to dance -- or drink or cry -- along to its tunes.

ARTIST: ROCKO

ALBUM: SELF-MADE (Def Jam)

Last year, Atlanta's Rodney "Rocko" Hill told Billboard that money was his main incentive when he made the transition from artist development executive/producer to rapper. Today, riches are a recurrent theme on his debut album, which features head-bopping, neck-jerking production from Drumma Boi (Young Jeezy, Yung Joc) throughout. On the guitar-based "This Morning," Rocko daydreams about Ben Franklins, while on the appropriately titled "Hustlin'," he unabashedly admits his fear of going "back to being broke." The obsession is a bit much on tracks like the drum-heavy "Busy," where he claims to be so occupied making money that he can't even talk or walk. But Rocko comes off less avaricious on a dedication to his mother, "Thugs Need Love Too," with an assist from R&B singer/girlfriend Monica, and on the repentant "Karma," where he most effectively demonstrates his storytelling skills.

ARTIST: VARIOUS ARTISTS

ALBUM: UMALALI: THE GARIFUNA WOMEN'S PROJECT (Cumbancha/Stonetree Records)

Five years in the works, the Garifuna Women's Project is the brainchild of producer/musician Ivan Duran, a native of Belize. The Garifuna people are the descendants of African slaves who intermarried with Carib and Arawak Indians. They live primarily along the Caribbean coast of Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Duran traveled the region, compiling Garifuna songs from women who knew them. The result is an album full of captivating music with a vibrant Afro-Cuban or Afro-pop vibe, artfully embellished by Duran's studio magico. Garifuna women wrote 10 of its 12 tracks.

ARTIST: SHAWN MULLINS

ALBUM: HONEYDEW (Vanguard Records)

The careworn ambience of Shawn Mullins' 11th studio album comes honestly. Since 2006's "9th Ward Pickin' Parlor," the Georgia-born troubadour lost his mother and had his favorite guitar and songwriting computer stolen in a home burglary. And his dog died. But while "honeydew" has its share of laments, they're not necessarily Mullins'. As on his previous releases, the singer-songwriter creates a series of vividly drawn, three-dimensional characters and puts the weight of the world on them, usually with a Southern accent and a gripping affect that sucks the listener deeply into their stories. There's the rustic roots imagery of "See That Train," where the ghosts of Johnny Cash and Elmore James tap their feet in unison, and the rich, swelling sound of the Band on "All in My Head."

ARTIST: THE HUSH SOUND

ALBUM: GOODBYE BLUES (Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen)

On the Hush Sound's third album, Greta Salpeter shows off a voice fit for Broadway and some piano skills worthy of a recital. But her band keeps things light and fast, letting Salpeter's piano keep pace with peppy, power-pop guitar riffs. Check the brief, tap-dance-like breakdown of "Honey" or the almost ragtime bounce of "Love You Much Better." There's a bit of cabaret swing to "The Boys Are Too Refined," and Salpeter brings a dash of lounge-singer blues to her vocals on "That's Okay." "Goodbye Blues" goes down easy, and much of the credit belongs to the Chicago-based band's ability to dive in and out of musical eras, trying on styles like accessories to a party.

Reuters/Billboard