Barbara Lynn
Here Is Barbara Lynn
(Water)
Here’s a long-lost classic from the vaults of Atlantic Records. Cut in 1968, Here Is Barbara Lynn has languished in obscurity despite its lofty reputation among R&B aficionados. Lynn segues between Motown-influenced dance workouts, bluesy ballads and horn-driven mid-tempo movers. Her vocal style favors nuance over fireworks, serving the songs so seamlessly that initially it’s easy to miss what’s remarkable about tunes like “Sufferin’ City” and the beseeching “This Is the Thanks I Get.” Spin the album a few times, though, and its depths begin to seem fathomless. The highlight is the chilling “I’ll Suffer,” a horn-driven lament that finds Lynn brilliantly alternating between grit and restraint. Note that many of these song weren’t the product of hired songwriters, but sprung directly from Lynn’s pen. For fans of Sharon Jones and classic soul, this one should prove a quiet revelation. —Jeff Jackson
Kaki King
Junior
(Rounder/Umgd)
Kaki King is sort of the Benjamin Button of musicians: she started out making the kinds of albums a veteran would make—spare, stripped-back instrumental records featuring her virtuosity as an astonishingly creative and precise player. But as she’s progressed, her discs have gotten looser and more experimental, as if she’s started looking for what she’d already found. Instead of honing her technique, each album shows more of the influence of those with whom she collaborates, and instead of only intricate instrumentals, she’s started performing simple songs. Her latest, Junior, written with her band, completely rocks out. Her once somewhat timid voice now wails with lead-singer intensity, and in the place of delicacy, she’s discovered the power chord. She still produces intense, interesting songs, but now there’s a bravado you’d expect to hear on a first album, rather than her fifth. —Mark Roessler
Owen Pallett
Heartland
(Domino)
Owen Pallett—who formerly recorded as Final Fantasy—is best known as the string arranger for Arcade Fire and others. This dense orchestral pop masterwork should change all that. Recorded with the Czech Philharmonic, Heartland is a complex song cycle bursting with brass and woodwinds, nimble rhythms, sly melodies and electronic embellishments. But even when he goes for baroque, Pallett smartly keeps the arrangements from overwhelming the songs. In pieces like “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt,” the nakedly emotional refrain perfectly counterpoints the orchestral flourishes. Although not as immediately accessible as 2006’s underrated He Poos Clouds, the album’s sheer ambition should captivate listeners until the tunes fully insinuate themselves. Then it’ll be too late to balk at the violent plotline involving a farmer who breaks jaws and drives spikes through eyes. A strange and intoxicating work, Heartland invites you to keep plumbing its depths. —Jeff Jackson
