Living legends go back to their roots

Saurabh and Gaurav

Dylan does Frank Sinatra in this folksy take on classics Bob Dylan — Shadows in the Night  (Columbia) 
Bob Dylan is a shining example of how an entertainer can grow old gracefully while still firing on all creative cylinders. His latest album, which consists of 10 songs, all recorded by Frank Sinatra, is a fitting tribute from one venerated American musician to another. Dylan’s opted to craft an album rather than curate a sampler. As a result, the themes of infatuation, loneliness, and love kindled, cast long shadows throughout the album. Perhaps his greatest gift to music has been his ability to create a character with his voice that can make his songs come to life and communicate a will of their own. Indeed some of these covers are genuinely moving; the South Pacific song Some Enchanted Evening and though brief, Autumn Leaves is a show stealer. Along the way he takes on classics such as Full Moon and Empty Arms, and manages to reinstate dignity and meaning to these gems. For the album, the 73-year-old artist gathered his long-time band into Studio B at Capitol Studios in Hollywood to celebrate the artfully penned lyric and melody. As a master entertainer, Dylan has always known that a narrator needs to use every resource at his disposal to get his message across. Dylan turns the jazz standard The Night We Called It a Day into a nostalgic look at a long-ended affair. Closer That Lucky Old Sun has been sung beautifully before, but Dylan’s voice provides just the right amount of grit, making every syllable and intake of breath count. It’s an apt finale to an album that soars as much as it wallows.

Best track: Full Moon and Empty Arms
misfit: Where Are You?

Heavy, yet compelling Björk — Vulnicura  (One Little Indian)
Björk’s surprise album is not a marketing stunt like Beyoncé and U2, but its online leaks forced the Icelandic musician into an early reveal. Vulnicura is as murky and portentous as one might come to expect from a Björk album, yet it’s filled with delicate, shining moments within its darkened overtones. Stonemilker opens with somber strings underscoring Björk’s voice, they are soft, merely hinting at the uproar that is to unfurl over the course of the album. The solitary harmonies that open Lionsong are bleak and emotionally raw as Björk contemplates love slipping through her fingers, helpless but clinging to the faint hope, singing “maybe he will come out of this”. The 10 minutes of Black Lake are Vulnicura’s emotional centerpiece and its musical peak. It details the wounds of separation, and also offers some devastating moral censure (“Family was always our sacred mutual mission/which you abandoned”). Mouth Mantra isn’t one of the most immediate tracks here, but it grows more and more interesting as one revisits it. Producer Arca’s electronic textures uplifts the tempo of the album, before giving way to Quicksand, the album’s final cut, written with electronic musician Spaces. The percussive track boasts a moving sentiment, “When we’re broken we are whole/ And when we’re whole we’re broken.” The album manages the most fundamental motivation of art — it turns the trauma of personal struggle into something beautiful.

Best track: Black Lake
worst track: Family

Vital and restlessly creative Sleater-Kinney — No Cities to Love  (Sub Pop)
Sleater-Kinney’s eagerly anticipated eighth album, makes it instantly clear why they cut such an impressive figure in the landscape of indie rock. Their hiatus saw them veer off in diverse directions: Brownstein formed Wild Flag and created the TV series Portlandia; Weiss became the drummer for The Shins and Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks; and Tucker started the Corin Tucker Band. The trio roars back to life on their re-union album No Cities to Love, with all of its fiery charm intact and sounding refreshed. Clocking in at a mere 32 minutes, the album is conceptually and sonically tight. The opener, Price Tag, offers a thesis on how easy it is to be blinded by money and hunger, singing “the cost comes in, it’s gonna be high.” The subject matter throughout the record flitters between death, self-respect, longing and love. “It seems to me that the only thing that comes from fame is mediocrity,” sings Brownstein on the album’s penultimate number, Hey Darling, one of the most poppy moments on the album. The dance punk of Fangless follows, as Janet Weiss’ rippling drums serve a reminder of how essential her diverse drum work is, to create the Sleater-Kinney signature sound. Fade is an absolute beauty of soaring, harmonised guitars, and unarguably amongst the high points of album. A New Wave brings with it a new enthusiasm. Tucker is the star of this utterly infectious track, from her perfect bassline to her staccato vocals. The Righteous Sisters are back — and how.

Best track:  Fade
worst track: No Anthems
 

Dense and complex album Drake — If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late  (Cash Money)
Twentyeight-year-old Canadian hip-hop superstar Drake has always been effortlessly able to traverse between Rap, classic hip-hop and RnB with ease. He has seemingly reached the pinnacle of the rap game across his well-received albums and mixtapes peaking with 2013’s Nothing Was the Same. Continuing where the talky, mostly guest-free album left off, It’s Too Late plays like a Drake audiobook, with the rapper sharing unfiltered musings on accomplishment and self-expectations over relaxed beats. On opener Legend, Drake lays down his arrogance, before boasting the combined mortgage of his homes on Energy, backed by ominous beats. In each of Drake’s releases, there’s an artistic growth that can be traced through his songs. “Please don’t speak to me like I’m that Drake from four years ago,” the rapper warns on No Tellin’, probably the definitive song on this surprise-release mixtape. Drake’s obsession with “6” on this album refers to the city of Toronto, which results in some of the album’s better moments and coincidentally “6” also occurs in the apparent sequel to 5AM in Toronto called 6PM in New York here. Drake also continues to experiments with hip-hop boundaries on the release beyond his own persona. Addressing his mother on You & The 6, he explains how he feels bad for not replying to her texts; leaving her forced to check Google Alerts for news about the son she raised alone. “I just been working with so little time for personal, momma,” he admits. It’s one of the most affecting songs of Drake’s career.

Best track: No Tellin’
worst track: Now and Forever
 

Top 10 Singles

Uptown Funk! .......................Mark Ronson feat Bruno Mars (NM)
Thinking Out Loud .............................................Ed Sheeran (NM)
Sugar ...................................................................Maroon 5 (CU)
Love Me Like You Do........................................Ellie Goulding (FD)
FourFiveSeconds......Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney (CU)
Take Me To Church.....................................................Hozier (FD)
Style..................................................................Taylor Swift (CU)
Earned It..........................................................The Weeknd (NM)
Time of Our Lives...........................................Pitbull & Ne-Yo (NE)
Truffle Butter...................Nicki Minaj feat. Drake & Lil Wayne (CU)

Legend: (CU): Climbing Up    (FD): Falling Down   
(NM): Non-Mover  (NE): New Entry