During the five years between Sucker and her self-titled official third album, Charli XCX was busier than ever exploring the different sides of her music. Not only did she found her own label, Vroom Vroom, she wrote songs for and collaborated with a who's who of pop music. She also released two mixtapes, Number 1 Angel and Pop 2, that reflected her mercurial talent -- and her connections to pop's underground and mainstream -- better than either True Romance or Sucker did. With Charli, she attempts to capture the spontaneity of those releases in a more polished format; more often than not, she succeeds. This is especially true of the collaborations that dominate the album's first half, where she's joined by some of pop's best and brightest. "Gone," which teams Charli with Christine and the Queens, is a standout that combines the crisp, double-jointed synth pop of Chris with Charli's flair for pop fantasies into a bold '80s fever dream tailor-made for dance-offs. On "Cross You Out," Charli recruits Sky Ferreira, who expertly adds some extra drama to its hyperreal heartache. The album's timeliest assist comes from Lizzo, whose irrepressible cameo on "Blame It on Your Love" helps distinguish it from the many other tropical and dancehall-inspired songs released in the late 2010s. However, it's Charli's two songs with Troye Sivan that establish the album's sound and vision. On "1999," the duo delivers an unabashedly nostalgic love song to pop's past, singing the praises of Britney and Michael over brittle synths that evoke Max Martin's heyday; later, they close the album with "2099," a darkly gleaming track that, thanks to the fractured production of PC Music's AG Cook, sounds like the landing of a spaceship -- or a time machine. Cook and other members of the PC Music collective ensure that Charli never becomes too straightforward, particularly on "Shake It," which features frantically sloshing and clanking tones that match the feverish energy of Big Freedia, CupcakKe, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar. In comparison to the album's numerous collaborations, Charli's solo tracks feel separate, and sound much lonelier. Though "Thoughts" and "I Don't Wanna Know" prioritize a mood of late-night regret over hooks, Charli saves two of the album's best songs -- the bittersweet "White Mercedes" and the tentatively hopeful "Official" -- for herself. While Charli gives equal time to her pop bona fides and her experimental leanings in a way similar to Number 1 Angel or Pop 2, it doesn't always join these facets of her music as effortlessly. In a way, its unevenness is only fitting for an artist as committed to blurring pop's artistic boundaries and connecting the dots between its past, present, and future as she is -- that she's this hard to pin down this far into her career is exactly what makes her a continually intriguing talent.© Heather Phares /TiVo

The second shot fired from D.I.T.C.'s charter members Show & A.G. is a shade darker than their debut. While 1992's Runaway Slave was definitely no new jack swing affair, Good Fellas is decidedly more grimy and a lot less playful, both on the production and the lyrical ends. The lead single, "Next Level," also remixed exceptionally on the album by DJ Premier, was the only track that made any above-ground noise. Arguably the best cut on the album, the track is a manifesto of real hip-hop over a melodic guitar sample. Much of the album rumbles along to the tune of low bass grooves and noisy ambient loops of a jazzy variety. From bouncy xylophones to the standard Showbiz horns and kick drums, the production here is tightly constructed. At the time of its release (mid-1995), East Coast hip-hop was cruising along in a rugged gangster mode. All the while an ugly coastal battle was brewing that would conspire to darken hip-hop forevermore. This album steers clear of the coast bashing despite its unmistakable East Coast stamp and appeal. A few tracks do lack a distinct flavor, but overall the methodical, unassuming D.I.T.C, sound here has since been grafted but never duplicated. Show & A.G. affirm that the road to respect-worthy hip-hop status is not through releasing an album every six months, but by letting things marinate for a few years and then proving you're still on top of your game.© M.F. DiBella /TiVo

Gerald Albright offers his listeners ten fresh musical concepts on his GRP label debut entitled Groovology, and they are musical concepts that have not been done to death. At the top of his game, this collection of songs gives Albright a marvelous opportunity to exhibit his multitude of musical skills, including composing, arranging, producing, and playing all four saxophone voices, in addition to several other instruments. Not exactly an easy task. Accompanied by a splendid roster of guest artists, Gerald Albright is sensitive, funky, grooving, smooth, and also demonstrates his irresistible rhythm and blues-inflected ballad work on such songs as "Bring a Lil' Love," "I Will Always Love You," and "I Need You." On "We Fall Down," Albright's blowing is subdued but in an unusually relaxed manner that is idiosyncratically smooth yet rooted in the R&B/gospel tradition. However, the top picks are "Old School Jam" and "Groovology" because of their memorable hooks and grooves. Excellent solos, vocals, and supportive arrangements make this one a keeper for Gerald Albright fans.© Paula Edelstein /TiVo

Tha Alkaholiks' wonderfully assured 1993 debut, 21 & Over, established the group as the closest thing hip-hop has to the Marx Brothers -- a trio of inspired comic anarchists devoted to, in their own immortal words, "hoes, flows, and 40 oz." But while 21 & Over won Tha Alkaholiks (who eventually changed their name to Da Liks) a sizable cult following, it failed to win the group the sort of attention and sales that Likwit Crew affiliate protégé Xzibit eventually snagged by hooking up with super-producer Dr. Dre. Undeterred, Tha Liks released Coast II Coast in 1995, a solid, consistent, and hilarious follow-up that sticks to the group's winning formula while offering enough variation, stylistically and sonically, to keep things interesting. Alkaholik DJ E-Swift still handles the bulk of the production, but he's joined behind the boards by Lootpack's Madlib (also known as Quasimoto) and East Coast heavyweight Diamond D, who provides the hypnotic Enter the Dragon sample that propels "Let It Out." Then-newcomer Xzibit makes his present felt throughout, ripping snidely misogynistic rhymes on "Hit And Run" and getting in touch with his inner Big Bank Hank on the hilarious old-school parody "Flashback." The rest of Coast II Coast nicely balances J-Ro and Tash's lyrical acrobatics with E-Swift's rubbery grooves, resulting in an album that's jazzier and more laid-back than Tha Liks' debut -- Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest even pops up on "All the Way Live" -- but no less winning. Coast II Coast failed to net Tha Liks gold or platinum sales, but it otherwise succeeds smashingly, effortlessly satisfying Liks diehards while still leaving them thirsty for more.© Nathan Rabin /TiVo

Vin Diesel's Xander Cage was busy BASE jumping or making Asia Argento flans or something, so Ice Cube steps in for the second installment in XXX's Action! Explosion! Ramping Stuff! franchise. Samuel L. Jackson gives Cube's disgraced special forces guy a chance for redemption -- help him quell a plot against America -- and XXX: State of the Union (you have to love the title) is born. Stepping out of the Xander Xone allows for a purer read on the gunplay, speed, and fire. Similarly, State of the Union's soundtrack is less extreme sport metal/modern rock cocktail and more amplified hip-hop with rock tinges. It's still the music to a live-action video game. But XXX: State of the Union is at least a little more cohesive. J-Kwon's "Get XXX'd" is the lead single/theme song, sort of its own "Shake Ya Tailfeather." As a track, "XXX'd" is nowhere near the addictiveness of J's "Get Tipsy." But together with Petey Pablo and Ebony Eyez, he gives the Trackboyz' samey Dirty South production some zing. Ice Cube's "Anybody Seen the PoPo's?!" rides a tense rhythm, calls out Bill Cosby, and fires off a few choice lines ("Bloody-ass BBs pulled out your buttocks!"); Timbaland's production on "Here We Go" nods to the Neptunes; and "Oh No" is sharp and lyrical with strong work from Big Boi, Bubba Sparxxx, and scary-ass Killer Mike. The rapper/rocker collabo track has been an action movie cliché since Judgment Night, and State of the Union has its share. Korn and Xzibit pimp Public Enemy's "Fight the Power"; while Xzibit sounds hungry on the mike, everything else on the track -- including Jonathan Davis' vocal -- is way too sanitized. Likewise, a straight mash-up of Three Days Grace's "Just Like You" and Bonecrusher's "Wyle Out" (which also appears on its own) is a little unnecessary. And yet, both "Just Like Wylin'" and "Fight the Power" work in the context of XXX: State of the Union. Like the inclusion of Moby and Public Enemy's text-speak protest jam "MKLVFKWR," they show some creativity on the part of the soundtrack's compilers, who could've just tacked a hot single to a bunch of sound-alike drudgery.© Johnny Loftus /TiVo

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