New Recordings

Wounded Rhymes

(Atlantic ***1/2

nolead ends Swedish songstress Lykke Li toughens up her 21st- century girl-group sound

on Wounded Rhymes, an aggressively emotional 10-song set likely to make her one of the breakout stars of 2011. The boldface example of the change from her 2008 debut, Youth Novels, is the difference between "Little Bit," that album's coy, playful indie hit, and Wounded's tribal "Get Some," in which she promises, "I'm your prostitute, you gonna get some." (By prostitute, she means the kind of empowered "prostitute of the mind" found in Haruki Murakami's novel The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, but I'm guessing that'll be lost on the dudes drooling over the pictures of a leathered-up Li in this month's Spin.)

There are, however, also plenty of delicate, beautifully bummed-out moments on Wounded Rhymes, which was produced by Bjorn Yttling

(of Peter, Bjorn and John), such as the to-the-point "Sadness is a Blessing" and "Unrequited Love," and the closing "Silent My Song."

All further the impression that Lykke Li is a goth, globalized iteration of Nancy Sinatra and the Shangri-Las for our time.

- Dan DeLuca

nolead begins Memphis
nolead ends nolead begins Here Comes a City
nolead ends nolead begins (Arts & Crafts ***)

nolead ends Memphis is the intermittent collaboration between Torquil Campbell and Chris Dumont. Campbell sings in Stars, one of the numerous Canadian bands that share lineage with the mighty Broken Social Scene, and it's tempting to dismiss Memphis as a side project. But while Here Comes a City shares a lush, easygoing melodic sensibility with both BSS and Stars, it's such an appealing, effortless sound, dense with layers of chiming guitars and reas- suringly placid vocals, that another variation on the theme is still welcome.

The music jangles and shimmers - the Smiths and the Go-Betweens are other reference points, the latter providing the album's title - but songs such as "Apocalypse Pop Song" are often barbed and bitter (sometimes distractingly so, as with the vicious put-downs of "Wait!"). Here Comes a City won't necessarily surprise, but

it's a pleasing addition to the indie social scene.

- Steve Klinge

nolead begins Marsha Ambrosius
nolead ends nolead begins Late Nights, Early Mornings
nolead ends nolead begins (J Records ***)

nolead ends Marsha Ambrosius was the Brit-born half of the

duo Floetry, the one with the silken voice, the one who bolstered her renown as a songwriter by penning "Butterflies" for Michael Jackson and hits for Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, and Jamie Foxx. Ambrosius knows her way around a melody. For Late Nights, Early Mornings, her debut solo CD, Ambrosius shows more frank sass than she did in Floetry, along with a sense of poignancy and topical urgency.

The sass comes through

in tunes such as "Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)," in which themes of bruised ego and cheery vengeance ultimately become a twittering anthem with a killer hook. The casually catty "Sour Times" and the gently caustic "The Break Up Song" carry similar aggressive vibes and soulful sonic weight. But then you trip across the lengthy "Far Away" - an epic R&B cut improbably comparable to some of Marvin Gaye's finest. Ambrosius takes on gay- bashing and youth-bullying without sounding too preachy. Solid.

- A.D. Amorosi

nolead begins Beady Eye
nolead ends nolead begins Different Gear, Still Speeding
nolead ends nolead begins (Beady Eye **1/2)

nolead ends Not since Cain and Abel have fraternal squabbles produced so many headlines. Now that Noel Gallagher has officially bowed out of Oasis with typical grace ("I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer"), it's up to the boys he left behind (including brother Liam) to carry on the family name.

Or rather, to rename themselves Beady Eye and produce Different Gear, Still Speeding, a satisfying (if forgettable) pop collection.

Musically, Beady Eye takes its primary cues from the Gallagher brothers themselves, showcasing the classic riffs and massive vocals of Definitely Maybe- era Oasis. As such, Beady Eye delivers an intensity missing from the boys' more recent efforts.

But that might say more about the sad decline of Oasis than the triumphant ascendancy of Beady Eye, about which there's not too much to say.

Sure, there's the catchy single "The Roller" and the Elton John-style attitudes of "Bring the Light." But there's also the drudgery of "Millionaire" and the monotonous ballad "Kill for a Dream." It's up to Liam's genuine sincerity, and predictably perfect vocals, to make Different Gear, Still Speeding, a propulsive if unmemorable post-Oasis exercise. Your move, Noel.

- Emily Tartanella

The Majestic Silver Strings

(New West ***)

nolead ends A musician's musician, Buddy Miller has always excelled at collaboration. Besides teaming with his wife, fellow singer-song- writer Julie Miller, he is in demand as a bandleader (Emmylou Harris' Spyboy, Robert Plant's Band of Joy) and as a producer-player for like-minded artists such as Patty Griffin. For The Majestic Silver Strings, the Americana stalwart joins with three other acclaimed guitarists - Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and Greg Leisz - and a host of guest singers.

The result is a set of often-inspired takes on classic country and traditional numbers. Some of the performances hew closely to the originals - Miller and Griffin high- lighting the sweet devotion of Lefty Frizzell's "I Want to Be With You Always"; Harris bringing her delicate beauty to Stonewall Jackson's "Why I'm Walking"; and Miller and Ribot raising the rowdiness of the George Jones honky-tonker "Why Baby Why." Buddy and Julie, meanwhile, shine together on her "God's Wing'd Horse."

The more wildly re- imagined turns are not quite as successful. The Ribot- sung "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" goes from spare and desolate to almost clangingly dissonant, and back; Roger Miller's "Dang Me" trades twangy lope for brooding atmospherics with a strident vocal by Chocolate Genius that borders on hip-hop. To say the least, it's not an approach that comes near the Miller whimsy of

"Roses are red, violets are purple / Sugar is sweet and so is maple surple."

- Nick Cristiano

Standards2: Movie Music

(Fuzzy Music ***)

nolead ends This able quartet steers through 10 famous movie themes, from Ennio Morricone's "Cinema Paradiso" to "Tara's Theme" in Gone With the Wind. A couple of Cole Porter tunes round out this stylish outing, which focuses mostly on older themes that are either standards or resemble them. The 1960s TV theme song for Dr. Kildare, penned by Jerry Goldsmith, receives some reverent treatment from pianist Alan Pasqua.

Bassist Darek Oles takes a handsome lead on the main theme from Rosemary's Baby.

Drummer and Fuzzy Music label owner Peter Erskine keeps up the rich feel throughout. Tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer gets amazingly creative in reworking the melody of Porter's "I Concentrate on You." It all makes for a good antidote to last week's interminable Academy Awards.

- Karl Stark

Magdalena Kozena, Kate Royal, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Simon Rattle conducting

(EMI, two discs, ****)

nolead ends nolead begins Symphony No. 9
nolead ends nolead begins Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich; David Zinman conducting
nolead ends nolead begins (RCA, two discs, ****)

nolead ends nolead begins Symphony No. 4
nolead ends nolead begins Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, Philippe Herreweghe conducting
nolead ends nolead begins (PHI ***)

nolead ends Simon Rattle wasn't about to make just another Mahler 2d recording. In fact, this is the most apocalyptic of them all, the sort that only the stentorian Berlin Philharmonic could pull off. At times, you wonder if there's something wrong with the disc, because it seems to go silent. It's just an extreme pianissimo, in contrast to the extreme fortes that could easily break your apartment lease. The important aspect is that Rattle molds a performance about implacable forces - all manner of them, even in the nature studies of the inner movement. In the vocal sections, Magdalena Kozena touches depths that few, if any, have. This recording isn't for everybody - it can be quite nerve-racking - but it brings back the thrill and bewilderment of a first hearing.

David Zinman's approach is in many ways the polar opposite of Rattle's, but just as valid. Granted, the 9th is much more inward than the 2d, but even taking that into consideration, Zinman has always been a conductor able to make grand state- ments without distorting the architectural silhouette of the piece. In fact, this is a performance in which all elements are in balance. And with the added benefit of beautiful, resonant sound quality, this is a recording to live with. Philippe Herreweghe, in contrast, is more of an interesting experiment from the historically informed performance standpoint. Textures have a softer- grained feel that suits this even-tempered piece, and soprano soloist Rosemary Joshua sings with eloquence and ease.

- David Patrick Stearns