Sammy Walker
Misfit Scarecrow
(Ramseur Records)
The name Sammy Walker might ring a few faint bells. Phil Ochs convinced Folkways to record him back in 1974. Two quick albums followed, then a 28-year silence. Walker's new CD is so heavy on topical songs that it feels both retro and fresh. His nasal, gravelly voice, and his mix of folk, bluegrass, country, and acoustic rock are what you might get if you put Dylan, Arlo Guthrie and early John Prine into a blender. But Walker's 56-year-old voice remains remarkably strong, with just a hint of a quaver at its fringes. Some of his poetry slides into June-spoon-moon territory, but in good early '70s style, he also fashions some zingers. My favorite is the challenge to anti-environmentalist fundamentalists: "Where we gonna go/ if Jesus don't show?"
—Rob Weir
Cyndi Lauper
Bring Ya to the Brink
(Epic)
For her first collection of new songs in 12 years, Cyndi Lauper created the surprise pop masterpiece of the summer. Utilizing an all-star cast of writers and producers, she has crafted a bold, unwieldy collection of dance-pop gems. From the winking, kinetic "Rocking Chair" to the more mid-tempo "Lay Me Down"—it all works wonderfully. And she's not too old to push buttons—one song's chorus goes, "It's the same old fucking story," except, in this case, it definitely is not.
—Drew Taylor
Dizzee Rascal
Maths + English
(Def Jux)
Dizzee Rascal's most American-sounding album almost didn't get a stateside release. Arriving here a year after its U.K. debut, the Grime MC's third effort sounds fresh, injecting new juice into an increasingly tired hip-hop formula. The crunching guitars and thudding beats of "Sirens" are resuscitated by Dizzee's live wire couplets—he spouts rhymes like a spastic Jay-Z. "Da Feelin'" offers a bracing take on the ballad with a radically chopped-up R&B loop. The posse cut "Where's Da G's" sends up typical gangsta stereotypes with tag-team glee. There are missteps like the witless "Suk My Dick" and cringeworthy "Wanna Be," but overall Maths + English proves the continuing vitality of Dizzee's inventively off-kilter vision.
—Jeff Jackson
Silver Jews
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
(Drag City)
Silver Jews frontman David Berman has a voice that makes you think Johnny Cash climbed out of the grave, dusted off his boots and looked at you with a "What are you lookin' at?" look. Yet the Man in Black would never pen such absurd lyrics as "sarcastic hair" or "squirrels imported from Connecticut." Good conception overall, though "Candy Jail" may as well be "The Good Ship Lollipop," and "We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing" sounds almost exactly like the Eagles' "Lyin' Eyes." Nice keyboards by Tony Crow and backing vox by Cassie Berman, and the guitars are jangly a la The Byrds—there's even an arpeggio on "Open Field" that oddly resembles the theme to The X-Files.
—Tom Sturm
