Imelda May’s ‘Tribal’ is a blast of energy

Imelda May
“Tribal”
(Verve)

Irish singer Imelda May sometimes sounds like a performer who was born a few decades too late, but is not letting it stop her having a good time. With her bright red lipstick and slick curl of hair, May harkens back to rockabilly pioneers like Wanda Jackson and early rock ’n’ roll outlaws such as Eddie Cochran.

Her signature sound is rockabilly seasoned with jazz and blues and spiced with punk attitude. It’s party music with a dash of danger, celebrating good times that are a little bit naughty. “I like a little bit of bad in a good, good man,” May sings on “Right Amount of Wrong,” a track on “Tribal,” her third U.S. album and a vibrant showcase for her talents.

May has a voice like good bourbon, smooth and rich with a bit of an edge, and it’s backed on the album by Al Gare’s lolloping double bass and machine-gun guitar played by the singer’s husband, Darrel Higham.

They sound like a band forged in the cauldron of sweaty club performances. When they unleash their energy, it’s hard to resist, and when May sings “There’s a wild woman livin’ inside of me,” you believe her.

She extols the temptations of the flesh in “Hellfire Club,” an ode to drinking and debauchery in Dublin, and introduces a ripple of sensuality along with the sultry trumpet in “Wicked Way.”

But the most characteristic tracks are good-time anthems such as the propulsively danceable and lyrically wry “Round the Bend,” in which she proclaims: “I love you though you’re always on eBay.”

At heart, these 12 songs are raucous shouts of affirmation, a fact captured in their titles. “It’s Good to Be Alive” sums up May’s attitude and “I Wanna Dance” says it all. (AP)


Idris Elba inspired by Mandela on album

Idris Elba
“Idris Elba Presents mi Mandela”
(7wallace/Parlophone Records)

Playing Nelson Mandela in 2013’s theatrical release, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” clearly struck a chord with British actor Idris Elba -- a musical one.

On “Idris Elba Presents mi Mandela,” a 14-track project on Elba’s own 7wallace imprint, the actor offers an uplifting journey, inspired by Mandela and his late father. The music incorporates a variety of South African rhythms and styles, including Marabi, Kwela, Mbaqanga and Mbube, mixed in with Western sounds.

Elba largely wrote the album on a keyboard and laptop while in Johannesburg during the filming of “Long Walk to Freedom,” but it’s far from a solo venture. The opening track, the lilting “Aero Mathata,” blends vocals from famed Mbaqanga group Mahotella Queens with producer Aero Manyelo’s Afro-tech beats. “So Many People,” featuring British actor-singer Shaun Escoffery, melds light African rhythms with ’70s-style Isaac Hayes soul.

There’s a warmth and joy that flows through these tracks, even when Elba is addressing death. The lovely “Tree,” featuring singer-songwriter Audra Mae and neo-soul singer Cody ChesnuTT, stresses the continuity of family even after the patriarch is gone. “Although his chair is empty, his love will always be at home,” Mae sings against a lilting African melody. Similarly, on the lullaby-ish “Hold On,” featuring Thabo and George the Poet, death brings only a temporary separation between loved ones.

Elba steps behind the mic throughout, especially on “mi Mandela,” a largely spoken piece that amusingly recounts his adventures playing Mandela.

It’s always tempting -- and somewhat cynical -- to dismiss efforts such as these as vanity projects, but “mi Mandela” feels more like a labor of love that Elba approached with an appropriate degree of humility. He smartly surrounds himself with a stellar cast of artists here, even including a cover of Mumford & Sons’ “Home” to round out this enjoyable and compelling set. (AP)


One Direction’s ‘Four’ teen dream in song

One Direction
“Four”
(Syco/Columbia)

One Direction has done the almost impossible for a boy band: The English-Irish quintet has held the fickle attentions of teenage girls the world over for three years -- the equivalent of 30 in tween years -- and the band’s new album, “Four,” isn’t likely to diminish the group’s stronghold.

On “Four,” One Direction -- Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson -- continues to produce perfectly polished pop tunes with the edges buffed for maximum shine. And shine they do: it’s hard to deny the anodyne appeal of strummer “Ready To Run,” the up-tempo Buddy Holly-sway of “Girl Almighty,” the Ed Sheeran-penned sweetly nostalgic “18,” or new single, “Night Changes,” which may or may not be about losing one’s innocence. It’s hard to tell since the band’s lyrics wisely never veer from PG.

Produced primarily by Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, musically, “Four” often harks back to the ’80s, a decade before any of the band members were born, with open, echo-y drums that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Martika record. Acoustic guitars and synthesizers comfortably collide throughout.

One Direction’s primary appeal is its members’ vulnerability. When they aren’t riding in on their white steeds to rescue the girl, they are willing victims of love, seemingly powerless over femme fatales on songs like peppy “No Control” and “Stockholm Syndrome.” In a capricious world, they promise undying fealty and they will never knowingly hurt you, or if they do, they are relentlessly apologetic, such as on “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.” They are as mythical and nonthreatening as unicorns, and that‘s why teenage girls find them so fetching.

One Direction’s last album, “Midnight Memories,” was the world’s best-selling album of 2013. “Four” will likely give Taylor Swift’s “1989” a run for its money for the 2014 title. (AP)