Zomby
Dedication
(4AD)

With only one track that’s over four minutes and most sticking to the two-minute mark (another three go under a minute), the latest by one of the U.K.’s most renowned dubstep producers is an exercise in experimentation. Though most songs resemble sketches more than finished products, there are ample ideas in need of further investigation. However, taking a closer look can sometimes be hit and miss. Opening number “Witch Hunt” features catchy samples of finger snaps and gunshots over a skittering beat, but a continuous buzzing sound spoils the song. Elsewhere, the record’s shortest inclusion, “Salamander,” consists of a tribal drum beat and what resembles a chorus of “whoa.” While that song as well as the one following it (“Lucifer”) end before developing into something more noteworthy, they each provide a glimpse of what a better-executed album might have been. —Michael Cimaomo

Blood Orange
Coastal Grooves
(Domino)

With this curious combination of slick dance-pop, low-fi bedroom tape and Twin Peaks-ish, reverb-drenched guitar twang, producer Devonte Hynes (Theophilus London, Florence & The Machine) creates a bizarre blend on this debut solo release. The album is incessantly beat-driven, and the trappings hung on/nestled into those beats include chuckity rhythm guitars, pounding basslines, sparse pianos and synths and vocals most reminiscent of Boy George or Fine Young Cannibals. Phrasing and arrangements recall even more of a 1983-84 vibe, drawn from rock/disco pioneers like Blondie, Talking Heads or the Tom Tom Club. It’s difficult to decide whether or not this is a pleasing hybrid, but it is undeniably original. The physical CD includes a high-gloss booklet of lyrics and photos of somewhat sleazy street characters that smells like a freshly printed porno mag. Unexpected. —Tom Sturm

Red Hot Chili Peppers
I’m With You
(Warner Bros.)

The Chili Peppers haven’t seemed particularly consistent since their heyday, offering a fair number of mediocre songs that never quite catch fire. I’m With You, the group’s first album in five years, includes a few (only a few) tunes that descend into just that kind of flagging energy, and digging too deeply into Anthony Kiedis’ vaguely realized lyrics is never particular rewarding (“stiff club/ it’s my nature/ custom love/ is the nomenclature/ turn down/ mass confusion”). Despite that, some of the band’s best habits surface in scorchingly good tunes full of Flea’s impeccable and propulsive bass parts, well-focused and funky guitar, hard-hitting rhythms and Kiedis’ rapid-fire delivery. Producer Rick Rubin delivers wide-open and pristine sound throughout, itself a pleasure. Album opener “Monarchy of Roses” burns out of the speakers with all the furious energy the band has reached in its best moments, and I’m With You is a surprisingly good return to form. —James Heflin