Beyoncé More Gimmicky Than Fierce

Response to 'This Is It' tepid from critics, all over the place from fans

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson’s posthumous single was released to much hype, but the critical response is lukewarm and fan reactions are mixed. A sampling:

• In a roundup of fan comments on Michael Jackson’s website, the Times reports that while some are pleased—“This single is great, even better than I thought it was gonna be”—many others are calling it “garbage.”

Up-and-coming band 'getting a ton of blog love' for 'heartbreaking' debut

(NEWSER) - The frontman of the pop duo Girls has a backstory that’s “epically sad and squalid and ultimately triumphant,” but you don’t need to know his history to recognize Girls' debut, Album, as “a dizzily powerful piece of work,” writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Christopher Owens’ voice sounds like “every sad nerd genius in pop history,” singing “simple songs about heartbreak” as though he’s “been listening to oldies radio in his sleep his whole life.” More»

'The Voice' is still there, with help from industry giants

(NEWSER) - It’s been seven years since Whitney Houston’s last album, and many younger listeners probably know her better for her recently-troubled life than for her series of huge hits. But her new album, I Look to You, marks a triumphant return, writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. “Houston’s singing is still incredibly powerful—a sublime mix of gospel purity, pop prissiness, and bedroom purr.” More»

(NEWSER) - Beyoncé’s new album, I Am…Sasha Fierce, “is something of a mess," Sasha Frere-Jones writes in the New Yorker. Musically, Beyoncé belongs in the "Genius Lounge," but her fierce alter-ego only emerges on the record to offer tame advice. "The wild R. & B. vampire Sasha is advocating marriage?" writes Frere-Jones of the song Single Ladies. "What’s next, a sultry, R-rated defense of low-sodium soy sauce?” More»

Disco-charged album offers 'brand new start' for Scottish band

(NEWSER) - Franz Ferdinand’s third album, Tonight, is a “wholesale reinvention of their sound,” writes Andy Langer in Esquire. Establishing riffs rooted in bass rather than their trademark guitar sound, the quartet’s effort—out now—treads where few have dared, says Langer. “The Achilles heel of postpunk bands from Interpol to the Kaiser Chiefs is that they haven’t effortlessly applied a rock sensibility to disco.” More»