Album reviews: Black Keys, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Chris Brown

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Bandana

(Keep Cool/RCA ****)

Freddie Gibbs has his cult, which hangs on to his every flow. But the reason we listened to his first Madlib collaboration, Piñata, was for his legendary costar’s fruitfully sampled boom-bap, which is only more anachronistic five years later. The darker Bandana is so good sometimes you’re even blown apart by Gibbs, if maybe not necessarily when he compares himself to “Flat Tummy Tea” for disgusting reasons.

Whether being arrested “the day Obama was elected” on “Situations” for “stuffing kilos in the engine” or forced to go to counseling on “Practice,” the ex-pimp’s contemplations are finally palatable — and gripping — enough for regular society. So even that famous flow on the candy-colored “Crime Pays,” holds its own alongside Madlib’s dusty, flickering piano (“Giannis,” “Education”) and disembodied doo-wop (“Practice,” “Massage Seats”), not to mention astonishing cameos from Pusha T, Black Thought, Killer Mike, Anderson .Paak, and Yasiin Bey, a/k/a Mos Def, who always sounds incredible on a Madlib beat. Maybe it’s time for another reunion. — Dan Weiss

The Black Keys

“Let’s Rock"

(Nonesuch ***½)

Preferring to pull the plug while on top rather than burn out, the Black Keys quit the road four years ago for a break. Now, five years after their last album, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have reunited, and they are taking to heart the title of their new record — “Let’s Rock.” (Those are actually the last words of a Tennessee convict before his execution, hence the electric chair depicted on the cover.)

In other words, the Black Keys are doing exactly what they’ve always done — going against the grain and delivering the kind of raw, blues-inflected rock and roll that made them unlikely superstars.

They are joined by two female, gospel-rooted backup singers, but all the other sounds are produced by Auerbach and Carney, and they’re virtually all guitars, drums, and percussion. Within that seemingly limited framework, they’ve created a taut, 12-song set that, through moments of both hard riffing and dreamy reverie, never loses momentum. A sure sense of song dynamics and a knack for big hooks will do that.

“It ain’t no fun when you’re under the gun,” Auerbach sings near the end of it all. There’s no sense of pressure here — just two guys following their instincts and making the most of their freedom to do what they want. —Nick Cristiano

Chris Brown

Indigo

(RCA ***)

Chris Brown has a lot to say. Why else would the controversial baritone singer need another double album, following 2017′s Heartbreak on a Full Moon, in which to make his point? Now, what he says might be troublesome to some listeners: Take “Need a Stack,” and its racy rap about digging only black girls with “nice hair.” That lyric caused social media to light up and Brown to clap back. Brown knows how to craft cleverly innovative soul and market his notoriety.

At least half of Indigo is the sound of Brown hoping to make sense of his shortcomings. From the smooth-as-silk and dipped-in-warm-caramel “All on Me,” he sings, “All these wrongs that I’ve done, I’m just trying to make it right.” Tracks like “Back to Love” portray Brown as a seeker of spiritual truth. But begging forgiveness and seeking God’s solace doesn’t prohibit the vocalist and his pals (Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, etc.) from sexing things up nastily on curt cuts such as “Wobble Up” and the corny “Sexy.” Give Brown points, though: On “Emerald” he attempts to mix sex and spirituality with the goofy lyric “I just wanna realign your chakras.” That mix of the sacred and the sanctimonious was Marvin Gaye’s bread-and-butter. Brown’s good, but if Indigo’s lyrics are any indication, it’s going to take some subtlety to reach Gaye’s heights. — A.D. Amorosi