Within half a decade from their debut, K-pop quartet Blackpink crashed the international mainstream, topping charts around the world and breaking records along the way with their bombastic singles, EPs, and live albums. Two years after issuing their Japanese debut, they finally released their first Korean-language effort, The Album. Effortlessly blending both Korean and English, the group delivered a short-but-sweet set of empowering anthems, led by the characteristically thundering banger "How You Like That." Overflowing with confidence, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa conquer each track on The Album with their vocal ability (both singing and rapping) and effortless charm, switching up styles to offer something for every type of fan. They bare their teeth on the glitter-trap "Pretty Savage," a collective middle finger to the haters, just as well as they take a stand for self-worth on the delightful kiss-off "Love to Hate Me." On "Crazy Over You," they long for romance over sexy, slinky production, before flipping the script on the gloriously rousing "Lovesick Girls." Following collaborations with Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga, Blackpink further bridge the East-West gap by recruiting Selena Gomez for the playful pop gem "Ice Cream" and Cardi B for the enticing "Bet You Wanna," two surefire moments designed to increase their global reach. Beyond the upbeat and energetic fare, the group close The Album with the inspirational "You Never Know," adding heart and vulnerability to their range. While it would be nice if The Album had a few more songs, there's enough variety to keep fans sated, excited, and empowered until the next big release. © Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

People Like You and Me is the fourth album from South Yorkshire outfit the Sherlocks and follows 2021's U.K. Top Ten release World I Understand. Produced by Al Groves (Bring Me the Horizon, the Reytons) the record sees the group deliver a record of anthemic indie rock. The track Sirens is included. © Rich Wilson /TiVo

Set aside the unforced error of the title Red Pill Blues, an allusion to The Matrix that has also been co-opted by Men's Right Activists -- a group whose combative sensibility is the polar opposite of the perpetually smooth Maroon 5. Set aside, too, the album cover, where the group -- who now number seven -- are all decked out with Snapchat filters, a gambit that suggests the group is a bit too sensitive about their veteran status. Taken on its own musical terms, Red Pill Blues is a sleek, assured affair, one that sustains a seductive neon-streaked mood from beginning to end. Embracing their essential identity as a blue-eyed soul band, Maroon 5 update their sound through a bevy of producers, spearheaded by executive producer J Kash. Unlike its 2014 predecessor V, a generally fine album undercut by a slight brittleness in the Max Martin production and a desperation highlighted by the vulgarity of added single "This Summer," Red Pill Blues glides easily -- so easily that the extent of its EDM-inspired digital collage production isn't immediately apparent. One of the reasons the modern sheen doesn't blind is that every track pushes the groove front and center, but behind the rhythm there are strong song foundations. As such, Red Pill Blues doesn't play like a collective rhythmic and melodic hook in search of an ear: each cut unfolds with its own internal logic, with the different textures playing nicely off each other. Everything comes to a head on "Closure," an extended 11-minute smooth-funk jam that throws all the album's strict structure out the window. Its presence not only draws attention to how Maroon 5 can vamp, it also highlights the discipline behind the rest of Red Pill Blues.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

J.J. Cale drifts toward a more pop approach on this album, starting with the lead-off track, "City Girls," which could almost but not quite be a hit single. The usual blues and country shuffle approach is in effect, but Audie Ashworth's production is unusually sharp, the playing has more bite than usual, and Cale, whose vocals are for the most part up in the mix, sounds more engaged. It's not clear, however, that this is an improvement over his usual laidback approach, and, in any case, it shouldn't be over-emphasized -- this is still a J.J. Cale album, with its cantering tempos and single-note guitar runs. It's just that, when you have a style as defined as Cale's, little movements in style loom larger.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Fancy You is the seventh EP by the South Korean girl group Twice. It follows their 2018 EP Yes or Yes with which the group became the best-selling girl group in South Korea, surpassing the album sales of both S.E.S. and Girl’s Generation.

Listening to the Naked and Famous' guttingly good 2011 full-length debut, Passive Me Aggressive You, one thing is clear: this band loves a hot chorus. More often than not on the New Zealand indie electronic ensemble's album, songs like the immediately addictive leadoff cut, "All of This," seem to be building to their catchy and cathartic pinnacle as soon as they start. Every fuzzed-out synth, distorted drumbeat, and slow-zipper guitar line seems to foretell of an impending dance-rock orgy of melody. This, all before you even get to the vocalists, with Alisa Xayalith's yearning and Thom Powers' exuberant croons. Sharing lead duties on and off as well as lending harmonies to each other, Xayalith and Powers alternately ground and elevate such towering anthems as the brutally infectious "Punching in a Dream" and the layered and shimmering "Young Blood." This is '80s post-punk-influenced rock that never sounds too indebted to any of its obvious touchstones. In fact, you'd have to add caveats and descriptors to any comparison: i.e., “They sound like an overdriven Tears for Fears,” “An engorged OMD,” or “Human League as blasted through the blown-out speakers of a giant boombox.” Which isn’t to say the Naked and Famous sound lo-fi, although there is some of that sound here, too. On the contrary, tracks like "Eyes" are positively grainy with emotion, while simultaneously appearing glossy, like neon-colored pop spaceships that zap you with precise, heartbeat rhythms and draw you in with tractor beams of melody. By the time you get to the ascendant album closer, “Girls Like You,” with its angsty repeated line "Don't you know people write songs about girls like you?," it's almost as if the Naked and Famous are talking about themselves as much as addressing the listener. And in that sense, there's nothing passive about how much you could aggressively love this band.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Whether or not you’re a fan of Steel Panther’s ridiculously over the top glam metal, you have to appreciate their dedication. For a comedy rock band, they manage to tell a joke with a surprisingly straight face, jamming out sleazy hair metal in a way that is equal parts caricature and homage. With the band's pedigree lying with acts like L.A. Guns and Fight, it’s not really a surprise that Balls Out is such a spot-on tribute to the excess of that bygone era, coming from people who were there to see the rise and fall of the genre from the inside. Songs like “It Won’t Suck Itself” and “17 Girls in a Row” show that Steel Panther are still the comedy rock masters of the single entendre, but to be fair, subtlety isn’t what an album like this is all about. This isn’t a carefree, “hang around the house and mow the lawn while you reminisce about the '80s" record, but more of an “all-night bender at a strip club while you reminisce about the '80s" record. As a hair metal album, Balls Out is finely crafted and well produced, evoking the glossy sound of the era, but as a joke, it’s pretty one-note, so either you’re going to get it or it’s going to grate on you. That said, if you’ve been looking for the glam metal equivalent of a theme park ride to be the soundtrack to a guys' night out bird-doggin’ chicks, you’ve found your holy grail.© Gregory Heaney /TiVo

Oh, Boys Like Girls. With their eponymous debut for Red Ink, the Boston quartet marks its entry into the effervescent world of sugary, emo-blasted pop/rock. They've got the gleaming guitars, urgent vocals, and driving rhythms propelling three-minute ditties about their hearts, their girls, and those girls who just like to toy with their poor hearts. But unlike similarly styled bands, Boys Like Girls are largely lacking much of anything that could either separate them from the pack or, at the very least, give them more substance to appeal to more than just the teenaged girls who will be singing along enthusiastically at shows while secretly pining for the shaggy-haired, boyish clan. Boys Like Girls are simply without the overwhelming catchiness of the All-American Rejects or the unbridled enthusiasm of the City Drive. Instead, listeners are left with an offering that is almost catchy and enthusiastic. Even the few standouts -- like the summer drive of "The Great Escape" and "Heels Over Head" -- will be pretty hard to recall by the lukewarm album's end. Regardless, those looking for a quick fix will surely eat up the likes of Boys Like Girls.© Corey Apar /TiVo

As debut albums go, Captain & Tennille's coming-out party struck the right chord with their audience -- and not just on the charts, although its showing there certainly outdid all expectations. But there are greater items of interest once you get past the hits, led by the bouncy title track and "The Way I Want to Touch You." Keyboardist Daryl Dragon honed his chops touring with the Beach Boys, whose own emotive choral approach underpins much of this album; no less than four songs here have some connection to the band. Smoldering versions of former Beach Boy Bruce Johnston's "Disney Girls" and "I Write the Songs" stand tallest, with Tennille leading the vocal charge to exceptional effect. There's a haunting, piano-led "Cuddle Up," which Dragon co-wrote with Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, and a daring revamp of "God Only Knows" which deploys ever-shifting tempos to trip up the listener's expectations (Brian Wilson would surely have approved). (The other intriguing link is drummer Hal Blaine, who graced numerous classic Beach Boys tracks and appears here as a sideman.) Given so many glittering non-originals, it's understandable how the pair's songwriting gets short-shrifted; "Broddy Bounce" is pure instrumental filler, all right. However, wistful anthems like "Gentle Stranger" and "Honey Come Love Me" are quintessential snapshots of what they did best -- providing a kinder, gentler response to the more cynical fare topping the charts at the time. Where Captain & Tennille wanted to go from here remained uncertain, but they were certainly off to a flying start here. © Ralph Heibutzki /TiVo

Following in the footsteps of the Grateful Dead and other vintage artists, the Zappa Family Trust has begun to issue archival live recordings by Frank Zappa through its website, www.zappa.com. Buffalo is a two-hour-and-20-minute, two-CD set chronicling Zappa's appearance at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, on October 25, 1980. At that time, the 39-year-old composer/guitarist/singer had assembled a particularly adept band including "stunt" guitarist Steve Vai and virtuoso drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and, freed from record company restrictions, was preparing a lot of new material for his new Barking Pumpkin Records label. The concert reflects that, looking forward to the upcoming Tinseltown Rebellion live album to be issued in May 1981 by presenting the title song, "Pick Me, I'm Clean," and "Easy Meat." You Are What You Is, Zappa's second double LP of 1981, was anticipated by the inclusion of its title song, "Mudd Club," and "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing." And there was even an improvisation, "Buffalo Drowning Witch," that presaged the 1982 album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. When Zappa wasn't introducing new material, he was, for the most part, reprising recent songs such as "City of Tiny Lites," "Broken Hearts Are for Assholes," "I'm So Cute," "Dancing Fool," and "Bobby Brown" from Sheik Yerbouti, "Joe's Garage" from Joe's Garage, Act I, and "Keep It Greasy" and "Stick It Out" from Joe's Garage, Acts II & III, all released in 1979, and his 1980 one-off single, "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted." Only "Ain't Got No Heart" (also to be featured on Tinseltown Rebellion) dated from the '60s. The technical abilities of Zappa's band allowed for the rhythmic complexity and sudden shifts from one song to another in which he delighted, as the group suddenly changed from rapid-fire improvisatory playing to subtle vamping behind one of his comic monologues. The Buffalo show was not one of Zappa's great performances; in fact, his repeated stumbling on the lyrics to "Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?" might have condemned it to remain in the vaults. But it was a good one, and representative one of the 1980 tour, which should make it valuable to Zappa fans, particularly because it provides a true audio record of a full performance without the kinds of edits and overdubs Zappa was wont to employ on the live recordings he issued during his lifetime.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo