GrooveOut Shorts
Lily Allen, Cazwell, Erasure, Annie Lennox , Michelle Malone, Balloons, Bob Mould, Beth Orton, MYNX, Judy Carmichael, Jana Mashonee, Matt Zarley, Ari Hest, Thriving Ivory. By Nancy Ford
Lily Allen It's Not Me, It's You The young pop star's second CD takes off like gangbusters with the very first track, “Everybody's at It,” thanks to unrelenting keyboards. But drag queens and activists alike will buy it mostly for her tongue-in-cheek “F--k You,” a soft-shoey kiss-off to homophobes. Capitol Records (capitolrecords.com). Cazwell I Seen Beyoncé at Burger King The skinny white gay rapper tells the absolutely hysterical story of seeing Sasha Fierce at her favorite fast food place. And at JCPenney. And at the liquor store. Good thing it's a funny song; this CD contains 14 different versions of it. Peace Biscuit (cazwell.com).
Erasure Total Pop! Deluxe Box If you haven't gotten enough Vince and Andy from the True Colors tours, indulge yourself with this glorious three-disc set of every hit the Brit pop pair has ever squeezed out, live and otherwise. Contains “Oh L'Amour,” “A Little Respect,” and all the other goodies, plus the DVD, At the BBC 1986. April 7. Rhino (rhino.com).
Annie Lennox The Annie Lennox Collection Lennox herself chose the former hits found on this freakin' perfect collection. Among the “sisters” who join her on the new “Sing” for women and children with AIDS are Dido, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, k.d. lang, Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Pink, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, and others. Arista (arista.com). Michelle Malone Debris The out blues rocker makes her guitar beg for mercy beginning with the very first cut, “Feather in a Hurricane.” She grabs hold and never lets go, all the way through to the heartfelt “Candle for the Lonely.” Exceptionally good. SBC Records (michellemalone.com).
Balloons Definition of Forever Calling their sound “homogoth,” this indie rock band is deep, dark, and moody. The title tune is kind of fun with its spoken-word backtrack and acoustic switch, but “Safeword” is better. April 14. Toxic Shock Records (balloonsband.com). Bob Mould Life And Times Mould stays true to his roots, too (mostly) with his ninth solo album since his ska band, Husker Du, debuted 30 years ago. Here, “Argos”, he says, was written for his theoretical gay punk rock band. But “I'm Sorry Baby But You Can't Stand in My Light Anymore” steals the show with its oddly Aerosmith-like harmonies. Anti- (anti.com) Review: N.F.
Beth Orton Trailer Park (Legacy Edition) Fans of the jazz-folk singer/songwriter will love this remaster of Orton's 1996 landmark album, which kicks off with the sublime “She Cries Your Name”. Also includes rare B-sides and live cuts. Arista/Legacy (sonybmg.com). Review: N.F.
MYNX Out of Sight Out of Mind The nasty “Kissie Show” is the first single off the five-selection EP, but the title tune is far deeper. Not as deep as their “Wolfgang Bang” though, of course. Half of this punky synth pop duo (Ara) is gay, by the way. Mynx Recordings (wearemynx.com). Review: N.F.
Judy Carmichael Come and Get It Best known for her National Public Radio talk show, Jazz Inspired, here the pianist lets her singing voice shine. “Love Is Just Around the Corner” is light, unpretentious fun, like most of these tunes, but the nostalgic, instrumental “Wanderlust” makes us sway. April 14. C+D Productions (judycarmichael.com). Review: N.F.
Jana Mashonee New Moon Born This gorgeous Native American princess is true to her roots yet delivers a contemporary feel, almost combining world music and R&B, in this ambitious CD which she herself wrote, co-produced, and also provided the piano and vocals. Somehow, it works. Miss Molly Records (janamashonee.com). Review: N.F.
Matt Zarley Here I Am This hunky openly gay singer/songwriter's claim to fame was making the Top 20 finals in the American Idol songwriter competition. Here he milks that claim with a 12-cut CD of dance remixes of that song from Rich Alick, Ayhan Sahin, Solar City, and others. ZarleySongs (mattzarley.com). Preview: N.F.
Ari Hest Twelve Mondays These bright, thoughtful songs are re-worked versions of 12 fan-selected songs from 52, Hest's ambitious 2008 task of creating a new song each week. See and hear this extraordinarily talented young man at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, April 5. Self-produced (arihest.com). Review: N.F.
Thriving Ivory Thriving Ivory Way too many songs here sound way too much like Train's “Drops of Jupiter”. Regardless, Logo gives the sexually ambiguous band's “Angels on the Moon” lots of play on NewNowNext PopLab. And VH-1 loves them. So there you go. Wind-up Records (winduprecords.com). Preview: N.F.
