The debut full-length album from Marian Hill, 2016's Act One, deftly showcases the Philadelphia duo's somewhat arty, stripped-down R&B. Featuring the talents of producer Jeremy Lloyd and vocalist Samantha Gongol, Marian Hill also benefits from the contributions of jazz saxophonist Steve Davit, who appears throughout. Centered on Gongol's lithe, if slight vocals, the duo make a minimalist brand of pop R&B built around robotic beats, chilly synth hits, and Davit's cubist post-bop sax lines that often sound as if they've been sampled and spliced into the mix. At best, one gets the sense that Marian Hill are aiming for an aesthetic somewhere along the lines of Beyoncé making an album with '80s electronic outfit Art of Noise. Occasionally they come close, and cuts like "Talk to Me" and "Take Your Time" have a fresh, kinetic energy that captures the band's art-school inclinations and catchy hooks. Elsewhere, tracks like "Down" and "Bout You" have a sultry warmth that sounds like a '90s Brandy track remixed down to its barest essential elements. Admittedly, as conceptually interesting as Marian Hill can be, their particular brand of electronic soul can sometimes feel awkward and square. The main crux is that Gongol, while technically a fine singer, lacks the believable swagger, warmth, and organic, swinging phrasing of singers like Beyoncé or even Sade, whose moody, emotionally bare style is an obvious touchstone for the band. For some listeners, Marian Hill's cool, at-arms-length earnestness will come off as wry, art-school juxtaposition. For others, it may just sound like bland reappropriation.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Sad Clowns & Hillbillies marks the first time in a decade that a John Mellencamp studio record finds him in the producer's chair. It's the first time ever that he's shared billing on an album cover. Carlene Carter is a singer/songwriter and music biz veteran; the daughter of country music royalty -- Carl Smith and June Carter Cash -- making her the stepdaughter of Johnny. She and Mellencamp worked together on 2012's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the musical theater project he scored for Stephen King; they collaborated further on the soundtrack for Ithaca -- the "Sugar Hill Mountain" reprised here is one of a handful of excellent duets between them. Things don't begin well, however. Mellencamp's attempt at Mickey Newbury's "Mobile Blue" (from his classic 'Frisco Mabel Joy album) is utterly dull despite using a full band driven by Miriam Sturm's excellent fiddling. "Battle of Angels" hearkens back to the songwriter's Lonesome Jubilee/Big Daddy period, and works like a charm. It's got everything: A killer hook, a poetic lyric, and a gritty vocal. Martina McBride appears as his duet partner on first single "Grandview," a rocking paean to trailer parks -- -- though guest guitarist Izzy Stradlin almost steals the show with a greasy blues-rock shuffle and break. "Indigo Sunset," the first duet between the headliners -- is kicked off by Carter's soulful country contralto. She frames the lyric's haunted loneliness while Mellencamp's grainy rasp -- framed by B-3, mandolin, fiddle, and guitars -- balances perfectly to bring it home. "All Night Talk Radio" is classic Mellencamp: Its dark vision is painted in compelling, ironic, and dark imagery packaged as in a taut, acoustic rocker. Morally, he should share the royalties for "You Are Blind" with Leonard Cohen's estate: A careful listen reveals that the strategic manner of stacking images and metaphors to draw out the last syllables bears the unmistakable imprint of the late songwriter's classic "Suzanne." Carter's soaring lead opening the duet of the rocking blues-gospel of "Damascus Road" is another set highlight. That theme also guides "My Soul's Got Wings," with Mellencamp's melody and chart accompanying a Woody Guthrie lyric -- Carter's command of the country church vernacular (after all, she sang with her mom in the Carter Family) lights the fuse for Mellencamp -- no stranger himself to rural Sunday services -- and he brings it home. While the words in closer "An Easy Target" rank among Mellencamp's most politically charged and socially arresting, his faux Tom Waits' delivery blunts the tune’s impact a bit, but it's too powerful to be completely buried under a stylistic mistake. While Sad Clowns & Hillbillies is a bit of a mixed bag, it's better than all of his other records that bear that mark (Dance Naked, Whenever We Wanted, Rough Harvest, et. al). It puts all his strengths -- excellent original songs, unforced arrangements, and (mostly) inspired performances -- on full display. Well, almost. Because Carter's dynamic presence here, and the pair's unmistakable chemistry, lift this album above the ordinary.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

One described as "the man who was too country for Nashville," Dwight Yoakam has always been an artist who is passionate about the themes and variations of classic country, but he's never treated his beloved Bakersfield sound as a museum piece. In Yoakam's world, country is not like a vintage auto that's too precious to drive, but a dinged-up but still powerful hot rod that has plenty of miles left in it, and he's happy to prove it by taking it out on the highway and opening the throttle. Judging from his 2016 album, Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars…, Yoakam views bluegrass much the same way; this is his first album in the revved-up down-home style, and while the acoustic backing gives Yoakam's music a different spin, the energy, passion, and unpretentious smarts of these performances are absolutely in his wheelhouse. For Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars…, Yoakam has opted to re-record a handful of tunes from his songbook (with the exception of a re-working of Prince's "Purple Rain"), and while that might seem a bit lazy, by the time he's done, these songs have taken on a different music personality, and if these versions may be quieter than the originals, Yoakam is putting his all into this music, and the band is expert and muscular at the same time. The band Yoakam assembled for Swimmin' Pools is first class, including Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Adam Steffey on mandolin, and Scott Vestal on banjo. The pickers respect the craft of Yoakam's tunes while giving them a high-lonesome tone that's powerful and satisfying, and the harmonies mesh beautifully with Yoakam's confident lead vocals. And while the notion of Yoakam doing a bluegrass cover of "Purple Rain" might sound like a high concept hipster joke, he wrings loneliness and loss from that tune with a delivery that's moving without becoming histrionic. A belated companion piece to the underrated 2000 effort dwightyoakamacoustic.net, Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars... is a stylistic detour for Dwight Yoakam, but its execution sums up many of his greatest strengths as an artist, and it's a strong, powerful piece of work that's passionate and plenty of fun at the same time.© Mark Deming /TiVo

The debut full-length album from Marian Hill, 2016's Act One, deftly showcases the Philadelphia duo's somewhat arty, stripped-down R&B. Featuring the talents of producer Jeremy Lloyd and vocalist Samantha Gongol, Marian Hill also benefits from the contributions of jazz saxophonist Steve Davit, who appears throughout. Centered on Gongol's lithe, if slight vocals, the duo make a minimalist brand of pop R&B built around robotic beats, chilly synth hits, and Davit's cubist post-bop sax lines that often sound as if they've been sampled and spliced into the mix. At best, one gets the sense that Marian Hill are aiming for an aesthetic somewhere along the lines of Beyoncé making an album with '80s electronic outfit Art of Noise. Occasionally they come close, and cuts like "Talk to Me" and "Take Your Time" have a fresh, kinetic energy that captures the band's art-school inclinations and catchy hooks. Elsewhere, tracks like "Down" and "Bout You" have a sultry warmth that sounds like a '90s Brandy track remixed down to its barest essential elements. Admittedly, as conceptually interesting as Marian Hill can be, their particular brand of electronic soul can sometimes feel awkward and square. The main crux is that Gongol, while technically a fine singer, lacks the believable swagger, warmth, and organic, swinging phrasing of singers like Beyoncé or even Sade, whose moody, emotionally bare style is an obvious touchstone for the band. For some listeners, Marian Hill's cool, at-arms-length earnestness will come off as wry, art-school juxtaposition. For others, it may just sound like bland reappropriation.© Matt Collar /TiVo

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The Angels of Venice's self-titled debut album features exotic new age music by the Venice, CA trio. Harp, flute, and cello intertwine in their compositions, which sound at once foreign and familiar.© Heather Phares /TiVo