Capitol Records (CAP)

Those following Beck Hansen since the dawn of the 90s know that he can play anything. Anything! From rural blues in Son House/Skip James fashion to Prince-like funk, slacker hip hop, Dylan-ian folk and lo-fi electro. If the tinkering ace from California first skyrocketed thanks to a convincing blend of folk and hip hop rhythms (the inevitable hymn Loser from 1993), he will over the years tend towards more classicism with Sea Changes (2002) and Morning Phase (2014). He’s done a complete 180° with Colors. This thirteenth album from Beck certainly isn’t lacking any hues. A vibrant mix of psychedelia à la Beatles, 80s pop, contemporary dancefloor, and funk crossed with hip hop, the stylistic kaleidoscope is complete! The wide variations are incidentally so far apart that they will probably rattle some newcomers. © CM/Qobuz

Those following Beck Hansen since the dawn of the 90s know that he can play anything. Anything! From rural blues in Son House/Skip James fashion to Prince-like funk, slacker hip hop, Dylan-ian folk and lo-fi electro. If the tinkering ace from California first skyrocketed thanks to a convincing blend of folk and hip hop rhythms (the inevitable hymn Loser from 1993), he will over the years tend towards more classicism with Sea Changes (2002) and Morning Phase (2014). He’s done a complete 180° with Colors. This thirteenth album from Beck certainly isn’t lacking any hues. A vibrant mix of psychedelia à la Beatles, 80s pop, contemporary dancefloor, and funk crossed with hip hop, the stylistic kaleidoscope is complete! The wide variations are incidentally so far apart that they will probably rattle some newcomers. © CM/Qobuz

Before the release of their debut album, Hey Violet hinted that they were moving in a more pop direction: tours with 5 Seconds of Summer and the sheen of their Brand New Moves EP made it clear that this band was very different than Cherri Bomb, the hard rock outfit that Rena and Nia Lovelis and Miranda Miller played in before. From the Outside, however, dives farther into pop's mainstream than any of Hey Violet's previous releases. The provocative former single "Guys My Age" sets the tone for much of the album, with cooing vocals and trap-tinged beats that sound like a collaboration between Demi Lovato and the Weeknd. Meanwhile, "My Consequence" evokes Daya, and it's more than a little ironic that "O.D.D.," a moody song about being a misfit, sounds like it could top the charts. To be fair, Hey Violet also make room for some unexpected sounds, like the smooth synth pop of "Where Have You Been (All My Night)" and the witchy ballad "Like Lovers Do." One thing that hasn't changed since the Cherri Bomb days is the band's skill at crafting naggingly catchy songs. "Break My Heart" takes its cues from late-2010s trends like tropical pop and EDM, but the hooks are all Hey Violet. Likewise, they bring some rock grit to "Brand New Moves"' shimmying beat, and Rena Lovelis sounds more confident as a frontwoman than ever. Not surprisingly given the band's roots, From the Outside's rock songs are some of the brightest highlights: over pumped-up riffs, the band skewers sketchy guys on "Fuqboi" with lyrics that are alternately hilarious ("Did I mention he wears his mom's earrings?") and scathing ("I'd rather cut out my tongue than let you kiss me with yours"). Later, they deliver their final kiss-off with "This Is Me Breaking Up with You." While Hey Violet sometimes seem to have more personality than their material on From the Outside, they handle the album's many stylistic shifts without giving listeners too much sonic whiplash. © Heather Phares /TiVo

On Strength of a Woman, Mary J. Blige covers a lot of lyrical ground familiar to anyone who has heard her 11 previous studio albums. A significant fraction of this set's sentiments are clichéd. There are self-help platitudes such as "You gotta love yourself before you love someone else," along with timeworn redemptive declarations like "I was lost but now I'm found" and "Now I'm finally free to be me." In fairness, the stock phrases are delivered with conviction, understandably weighed with a sense of "Not this bull again." The alleged extramarital antics that dragged Blige back into this darkness, after all, are as clichéd as it gets. Clearly the time wasn't right for Blige to record a bunch of feel-good jams, but in the listener's favor, the anguish has also inspired the singer and her co-writers and producers -- Brandon Hodge, Darhyl Camper, Jr., Prince Charlez, and Jazmine Sullivan, along with many others -- to illustrate these ballads of confrontation and perseverance with enough specifics to distinguish them from the past work. Take "Set Me Free," where a swanky, winding backdrop supports stinging "hmph" lines like "You musta lost it -- n*gga, you won't get a dime," followed by "There's a special place in hell for you" in dismissive high register. A clinking Kaytranada collaboration ("Telling the Truth"), a back-stabbed weeper that bares Sullivan's unmistakable touch ("Thank You"), and a machine-soul ballad worthy of an extended 12" mix ("U + Me [Love Lesson]") likewise could not have been made at any other point in Blige's career. A few songs do depart from expressing pain and the documentation of recovery. Brightest of all is "Find the Love," pure early-'80s boogie throwback. Just beneath that is the title track, a theatrical empowerment anthem that would likely close just about any other album. Instead, extra punctuation is provided by "Hello Father," another gem. It contains one of the hour's best grooves, provided by Hit-Boy, and is all devotional finesse. © Andy Kellman /TiVo