Lotusflow3r Not Quite Full Bloom for Prince

Album maintains the 'good stuff,' tries something new

(NEWSER) - With their latest album, Britain’s Arctic Monkeys show they haven’t let the media hype get the better of them. Alex Turner and Co. try some new directions without abandoning the “good stuff” from “their usual territory,” writes Joe Tangari for Pitchfork. Humbug is “their loosest record yet by far,” with “snapping” guitars and production that emphasizes Turner’s dark lyrics. More»

CDs showcase Fab Four as they were meant to be heard

(NEWSER) - The Beatles just got better: every one of their original albums and a batch of collected singles has been remastered, boosting the quality to the level “the Beatles themselves would have heard and intended,” writes Matt Hurwitz in the Washington Post. The stereo CDs remind us that the Beatles were a “rock band”: these recordings pack a punch not heard on the older discs. More»

(NEWSER) - Elvis Costello's new Secret, Profane & Sugarcane CD has a spare, country feel to it—T. Bone Burnett returns as producer—and critics generally think it hits the mark.

• Glen Boyd, Blog Critics: A little too much "filler" among the bright spots, but those bright spots are terrific. "For those willing to stick it out"—and casual Costello fans may not—it "proves ultimately satisfying."
• Andrew Perry, Telegraph: "This dalliance in fiddly, old-time country music almost feels like a return to base camp. It’s more rootsy than 1981’s Almost Blue."

(NEWSER) - Ciara's tiny voice can't survive in the spaces her producers leave on her new album, Fantasy Ride, but the disc does provide a few fascinating diversions. Some critical opinions:

• "That's what you get with Fantasy Ride," Tom Breihan writes on Pitchfork. "A few brilliant left turns that feel almost accidental mixed in with a sort of end-times hunger for a top-40 audience that doesn't seem to exist anymore. As a vivid little snapshot of what's happened to the pop music business, it's fascinating. But it's not much of an album."

'No Line on the Horizon' features some experimentation, some classic U2

(NEWSER) - At its best, U2’s latest album has the band both pushing forward with a dense, atmospheric sound courtesy of producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois—but in other moments, Bono and company are content to lazily rehash their stadium-pop formula, critics say.

• “The album lacks a unified feel,” writes Josh Tyrangiel for Time. “It feels like the work of musicians torn between the comfort of the present and the lure of one last run into the adventurous past.”