Big Business – Mind the Drift   4.5 out of 5 stars

                After doing the two-piece vocals/bass & drums thing for their last couple of records – and also serving as the rhythm section backbone of The Melvins for their respective last two records – Jared Warren and Coady Willis of the stoner-metal group Big Business have finally decided to bring on board a lead-guitarist in the form Toshi Kasai for their third album, Mind the Drift, and they are ten times the better for it.

                Produced by The Shins and Built to Spill mastermind Phil Ek, Mind the Drift is a swift and powerful record that wastes no time in its eight tracks and just-under 35-minute length. Jared Warren’s soaring metal wail against Coady Willis’ booming drums are a wonder to behold, and Toshi Kasai’s newfound guitar work just makes the boys that much better, especially on tracks such as the barnstorming “Cats, Mice” and the punk ferocity of “I Got it Online.” The best Metal song I’ve heard this year hands-down, however, is “The Drift,” a nearly four-minute piece of perfection of bass, bad-ass vocals and thundering drums that will surely be a stripper anthem for years to come. I didn’t think anything could surpass the new Kylesa and Mastadon records in the world of metal this year, but I was sorely mistaken. Big Business’ Mind the Drift is, for now, the quintessential metal album of the year.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest     5 out of 5 stars

                When lead singer of Fleet Foxes Robin Pecknold (who, incidentally, made one of last year’s best albums) publically comes out and says “Veckatimest is so good it makes me want to quit and become a banker,” you know you’ve probably got an instant classic headed your way. And he’s absolutely right. Grizzly Bear’s four members are essentially an artier and more whacked-out version of Crosby, Stills & Nash – plus a drummer – for a new generation, and they have received acclaim from newbies such as Pecknold to masters such as Thom Yorke from Radiohead. In fact, they are the most unique band working in music today.

                No one even remotely sounds like Grizzly Bear do, except for possibly Department of Eagles from last year, but that’s just Daniel Rossen from Grizzly Bear by himself, so that doesn’t really count. All three vocalists – Rossen, Ed Droste and Chris Taylor – are so amazingly talented that they could easily front bands of their own, but as the three-headed beast in Grizzly Bear, they create harmonies you’ve never heard become this intoxicating; it’s like the Beach Boys, but instead of rays of sunshine coming from the speakers, it’s grey clouds of elegant and majestic melancholy. Rossen’s opening “Southern Point” evokes so many different moods and emotions it’s almost exhausting to go any further without pausing to take a breather. The next track, Droste’s “Two Weeks,” is a gorgeous beauty enhanced even further by the other band members chiming in with their luscious harmonies. I could rave about how perfect the other 10 tracks here are, but I’d rather you go and find out for yourself. Vecatimest is an album that constantly rewards with repeated listens, always something new is discovered every time I put my headphones on, close my eyes and drift away. Not only is it one of the best albums of the year, but it’s also one of the decade’s best.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix   4 out of 5 stars  

                For a band that once held the honors of being the electronic group Air’s backing band, Phoenix sure have come a long way. In the 10 years since they formed, they’ve gone from being a moody rock band with tinges of soul and electronica to France’s answer to The Strokes and, just maybe, the best pop/rock band that the French have ever offered.

                Those that never checked out Phoenix’s criminally overlooked 2006 album It’s Never Been Like That need to do so immediately. With more hooks than a championship prizefighter, it really is a shame that it never took off and made them rock stars. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix will hopefully change that (their performance on Saturday Night Live almost two months ago, before this album came out, is still buzzed about), even though it isn’t quite as strong as its predecessor. The two crowning jewels here, “Lisztomania” and “1901,” are sure to be soundtracks of the summer with their catchy hooks, lyrics and pop/rock sheen. The slight negative is that the rest of the album struggles to catch up with these two pieces of perfection. After multiple listens, tracks such as the bouncy “Lasso” and the disco-funk of “Fences” open up more readily, but nothing here will ever match the overwhelming power that the two opening tracks exude. But a band that puts out not one but two of the best songs out of the year deserves to be heralded and hopefully Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the record that finally puts these boys from France over the top.

Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens – What Have You Done, My Brother?    4.5 out of 5 stars

                It’s not too often that an artist waits until their late 60s to make their first record, but that is exactly what Naomi Shelton has done with her jaw-dropping debut, What Have You Done, My Brother?, one of the finest soul records to be released in years.

                Along with musical director Cliff Driver (whom Shelton originally first met back in 1963!), Shelton helped put together The Gospel Queens exactly 10 years ago, and finally there is an album to celebrate their talents. Shelton, whose vocals resemble that of a Mavis Staples, is the genuine article. You feel the pain, heartache and joy in every syllable she belts out, and The Gospel Queens that accompany her are no slouches either. Two of the three Queens even take lead vocals for tracks on What Have You Done, My Brother? Cynthia Langston tackles “I Need You to Hold My Hand” and Bobbi Gant belts out the rousing “He Knows My Heart,” both achieving perfection. But whether it’s originals that Shelton is performing with The Dap Kings’ (the band that have accompanied Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse to their own fame) own Bosco Mann or covering classics such as Sam Cooke’s untouchably great “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Shelton never slips or misses a beat. Every inch of What Have You Done, My Brother? is dripping with soul perfection. If you consider yourself a fan of gospel or soul music, this album is truly essential listening.  

Sonic Youth – The Eternal   4 out of 5 stars 

                Other than maybe Radiohead or Wilco, it’s hard to think of any other band besides Sonic Youth that has had a more lauded and applauded decade of work in the 2000s. Since 2002, Sonic Youth have made some of the most admired albums in their long-tenured career including that years’ Murray Street, 2004’s Sonic Nurse and 2006’s Rather Ripped.  Now comes The Eternal, their first album not on a major label in almost 25 years (and also their first album with former Pavement guitarist Mark Ibold as a full-time member), instead opting for release on the venerable and ultra-respected Indie label, Matador. Honestly, though, what else would you expect from probably the most forward-thinking and independent band ever to be assembled in the history of rock music?

                The Eternal is very similar in tone to the other albums Sonic Youth have released this decade, but after multiple listens, I don’t find it nearly as essential as I do Murray Street or Rather Ripped. But just like Sonic Nurse, The Eternal is a damn fine album that has some truly excellent moments. Take for instance one of the best songs that Lee Ranaldo has ever come up with, the taut and solidly rockin’ “What We Know.” And Kim Gordon shines brighter than she usually does with first single “Malibu Gas Station” and the creepy album closer “Massage the History.”  Thurston Moore’s contributions are fine as always, such as the epic “Antenna,” but his last solo record and contributions to Rather Ripped were far better than anything here.  Will The Eternal go down as one of Sonic Youth’s best albums ever? I wouldn’t think so, but it’s’ still better than most albums that come out these days, and a band with its core still going strong 30 years later is nothing to scoff at.

Elvis Costello – Secret, Profane & Sugarcane   3.5 out of 5 stars

                Secret, Profane & Sugarcane is not Elvis Costello’s first foray into the world of folk-bluegrass, country and Americana. All the way back in 1981, Costello released an album of all country covers titled Almost Blue, and then in 1986, Costello collaborated with T-Bone Burnett for King of America. Twenty-three years later, Burnett and Costello are at it again with Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, an album that also boasts some of the best bluegrass musicians in the game (Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Mike Compton and more) and only took them all three days to make.

                The songs that make up Secret, Profane & Sugarcane are a real grab-bag, written at all sorts of different times for Costello. Some songs, such as “Down Among the Wine and Spirits” and “Hidden Shame” were actually written for Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash respectively over a decade ago. Other songs here have already ended up on previous Costello records, such as “Complicated Shadows” which first appeared on 1996’s All This Useless Beauty. These songs actually fit the Americana mold quite beautifully, but it’s when Costello tries to do tracks from the Secret Songs sessions (hence part of the title) in a bluegrass way that the album falters a bit. For those that don’t know, Costello was commissioned a few years back by the Royal Danish Opera to write songs for an opera about the life of Hans Christian Andersen. A few of those songs, such as “She Handed Me a Mirror,” “How Deep is the Red?,” “She Was No Good” and “Red Cotton” make their first ever appearance here, and the country arrangements just make these songs feel awkward. It’s like trying to stick a square country peg into a round operatic hole. Costello also finds time to throw in a cover of Bing Crosby’s “Changing Partners” at the very end, bringing Secret, Profane & Sugarcane to a very odd end. Even though Secret, Profane & Sugarcane never seems to find  consistent footing from beginning to end, it’s still a good batch of songs from a plethora of who’s-who musicians that I welcome new music from anytime – especially the always-versatile Costello. 

Prince – Lotusflow3r            3 out of 5 stars

The mini funk-meister is back, with some of the old and a bit of the new. Actually, this is a three-disk set. The first disk is Elixir from Bria-Valente. She’s a decent singer but follows the breathy, entrancing style similar to that of Apollonia and Vanity (another female Prince protégé – along with Sheila E). The third disk is MPLSOUND, a nod to Prince’s glory days of writing funky dance songs with suggestive lyrics. The piece to pay attention to is “Lotusflow3r” – literally the centerpiece. Prince is well known as a multi-instrumentalist, but here he really lets go with the guitar work. There are nods the funk and the spacey, but this disk focuses on the guitar more than anything. It’s great to hear him do a straight-up rendition of the Tommy James chestnut, “Crimson and Clover.” At the same time, he makes it his own. “Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful” is funky and jazzy and works in this collection. All in all, not a bad disk. (This is only available at Target.)

Eric Gales – Layin’ Down the Blues  3 out of 5 stars

This is a greatest hits collection, and it shows Gales to be a diverse performer. He can do the acoustic blues and the slower blues, as well as rip your face off with a blues guitar assault that is part Jimi Hendrix and part Gary Moore. For those not acquainted with Gales, this is a decent introduction. Like all collections, it has its high points and low points; but for all that, it’s not a bad investment.