West does one better on latest release

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Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, the first Friday of every month, veteran NEWS entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle and former British music-press writer Adam Corrigan and a revolving stable of NEWS writers review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“Late Registration” (Roc-A-Fella) – Kanye West

2004’s “The College Dropout,” the debut album from hip-hop producer Kanye West, mixed the braggart with the backpacker – West may enjoy his Rolls Royce, but he’s equally concerned with the music and the message. His sophomore release, “Late Registration,” improves on this concept by upping his game lyrically and bringing in the unlikely musical ally of Jon Brion, who’s best known for producing Fiona Apple and Aimee Mann.

As an M.C., he’s not quite a master. But this album shows his growth, like on the sly “Gold Digger,” a riff on women who use men just for their money, that only sounds misogynistic if you can’t admit that it happens sometimes.

West has a political streak that shows in the social commentary of “Crack Music,” and the first single from the album, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” which implores the hip-hop community to consider where they’re getting their bling from and what impact it’s having on the world.

But it’s the music that shines on this album. As a producer, West utilized a far greater musical landscape than many of his contemporaries. Brion, who must own a truckload of weird instruments from the theramin to the clavichord, brings a fun orchestral flair to the proceedings, as on the deceptively simple “Hey Mama” and the blustery “We Major.” Together, they forge an album that’s both a nod to old-school boom-bap and a hugely ambitious sonic experience.

West has brought the political and musical sensibilities of conscious hip-hop to the masses, while still being a traditionally satisfying, bombastic rapper. And that is no small feat. – Emily Burnham

“Hillbilly Deluxe” (Arista Nashville) – Brooks & Dunn

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn may be a little bit country, but they’re more than a little bit rock ‘n’ roll as well.

Their just-out ninth studio album reinforces this point. The lyrical themes are through-and-through country (hurtin’, drinkin’, partyin’, fightin’, drivin’), but the music itself is rockin,’ equally at home in today’s Nashville scene as it would have been in the 1970s Southern rock world.

Coming off the spare, acclaimed “Red Dirt Road,” the award-winning duo continues their creative renaissance with “Hillbilly Deluxe.” Such uptempo winners as “Play Something Country,” the title cut, “Her West Was Wilder” and “She Likes to Get Out of Town” will appeal to even the crossover fans. The slower tunes don’t stand out as much, although the pair do a remarkable job of channeling Tom Petty on “One More Roll of the Dice.”

For this project, the award-winning duo teamed with producer Tony Brown and a raft of talented collaborators, including Vince Gill and Sheryl Crow, who provide backing vocals on “Building Bridges.” All this imported creative energy shines through on this new album, one of Brooks & Dunn’s best to date. – Dale McGarrigle

“Of the Black & the Blue” (LongAgoLight) – Tree by Leaf

Ah, where’s the justice? Certainly not in the music world.

If it were, Garrett Soucy and his band, Tree By Leaf, would be featured in Rolling Stone magazine instead of Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes.

Tree By Leaf’s third full-length CD and latest “Of the Black & the Blue” fulfills much of the promise shown on earlier recordings and in live gigs around the area. The Waldo County-based group has been a fixture at local festivals, but really should be playing to thousands more.

Like Oberst, Soucy innovates freely within the folk idiom. But unlike Oberst, whose quavering voice can come off as affected, Soucy invests his tunes with sincerity.

Soucy and his wife, Siri, who sings lead on several tunes this time out, have wonderfully appealing voices. And pianist Cliff Young’s tasty little melodic runs have come to stamp the band’s sound.

But what Tree By Leaf is all about is Soucy’s songs. Melodically engaging, even leaning toward pop, they have a lyrical depth that stimulates both emotion and intellect.

On “Never Seems to Leave,” Garrett sings the verse while Siri follows with the soaring bridge to great effect. “That’s Why I Keep On” sounds like funky folk, if there is such a thing, and on the standout track, “On a Cold Norwegian Tile,” Garrett sounds positively tortured, with Ezra Rugg adding a haunting bowed bass.

This record takes a deliberate step toward a richer sound, adding the fine electric guitar work of Nick Cody and Rugg’s bass and drums.

If there’s one gripe I’ve got, it’s that Young and Cody should have been unleashed to add more instrumental fills and layers, but that’s a small point. The band performs at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity on Sept. 24, and later that night at a CD release show at The Grand in Ellsworth. For more information, see: treebyleaf.org – Tom Groening

“Move Along” (Interscope Records) – The All-American Rejects

It’s unclear if the album’s title is supposed to be taken literally, but it does sound as if the Oklahoma-spawned quartet is doing just that in terms of its sound. The title track and “Dirty Little Secret” are the two standouts on this sophomore follow-up to the pop-punk-rock foursome’s debut album. Edgy is too strong a description, but the album’s overall sound is less teen and poppy and more guitar-driven without affecting its “radio” appeal. The first three songs (“Stab My Back” is a solid No. 2) start this collection out splendidly, making it a slight step up from their freshman breakout album, which was also an enjoyable listen. Fans should appreciate the creative growth accomplished without sacrificing signature sound. – Andrew Neff

“Arular” (XL/Beggars) – M.I.A.

It would be a shame if recent events across the pond managed to sour Britain’s multicultural brew. Without its millions of immigrants and refugees, London would not be the fantastic Tower of Babel that it currently is, would not offer some of the best curries on the planet, and would never have given us M.I.A.

By now, if you can read or tune-in to music television, you’ve probably already come across M.I.A. – known to her parents as Maya Arulpragasam. You also probably know her much-reported back story – daughter of a Tamil Tiger rebel, she left Sri Lanka with her mother at the age of 10. And now, with a little help and inspiration from diverse influences such as Justine Frischmann (Elastica) and Peaches, she has burst out of South London to receive international acclaim – and a nomination for Britain’s high-profile Mercury Music Prize for her debut album “Arular.”

With her globe-trotting lifestyle, M.I.A.’s exotic flow nods to dancehall, punk and industrial as much as hip hop, and has a primitive dance-floor heart. Nailed down by repetitive, often sparse rhythms, she coolly nags and taunts, spraying political references around boasting and celebrity baiting.

It makes for an original blend, a distinctly un-American take on rap and hip-hop, and one that is causing people on both sides of the Atlantic to pay attention. – Adam Corrigan