Richie Havens
Nobody Left to Crown
(Verve Forecast)
After recording 28 albums, 67-year-old Havens could rest on his laurels. Instead, he's released a Grammy-worthy record. Havens is in superb voice, his trademark gravel smoother, mellower and sweeter. But time has not dulled his roar. In "Say It Isn't So," Havens expresses incredulity at being suckered into another "war without end." He follows with a brilliant acoustic cover of "Won't Get Fooled Again." If you're waiting to be led to glory, Havens insists there's "nobody left to crown" and "scoundrels rule the roost." The slave master in "Fates" sounds a lot like Dubya. Havens wails on his open-tuned Guild like a man possessed, but his mature singing is a clinic in how to be soulful and poignant without being histrionic. —Rob Weir
Rokia Traore
Tchamantche
(Nonesuch)
The West African country of Mali has lots of music, with centuries-old traditions, whole clans of musician bards, and many ethnic groups, each with its own repertoire. And Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist Rokia Traore makes mesmerizing music. The daughter of a diplomat, Traore brings a global perspective to ancient traditions, folding in jazzy guitar, human beatbox, and the apt addition of a steel drum playing sparse patterns that sound like something transposed from a balafon or a kora. — John Adamian
Oxford Collapse
Bits
(Sub Pop)
The latest from Oxford Collapse delivers a series of taut and tuneful three-minute songs. The three members are expert purveyors of jangle-punk, at home with sweet melodies and surging clatter. Highlights include the anthemic rocker "Electric Arc" and string-laden ballad "A Wedding," but the other songs also make themselves felt after a few spins. Bits manages to sound both winsome and rough-edged, a neat trick that recalls such bands as The Verlaines, The Clean, and The Bats. Those influences may only resonate with indie rock fans of a certain age, but Oxford Collapse isn't merely retro. In fact, they're probably a few years ahead of the musical recycling curve, plundering the past to make tomorrow's music today. —Jeff Jackson
Keane
Perfect Symmetry
(Interscope)
It's always been massively disappointing that this obviously talented group of musicians can never seem to write more than one memorable melody per album. On Perfect Symmetry, there's "Better Than This," which mines David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" right down to the keyboard sound. (For those keeping score, mark it as a half-melody.) Keane's embrace of '80s faux-jubilance permeates the entire record. On their next release, maybe they'll offer up a memorable melody-and-a-half. — Dave Riedel
