Drake Jensen, OUTlaw
Is the world ready for its first
openly gay male country-music star? We might not know for sure with Drake
Jensen’s OUTlaw – and not because he’s queer. The burly, full-bearded, Nova
Scotia-born honky-tonker deals with well-worn genre platitudes – though,
interestingly, never seems to embrace his "out" status on anything but the
title – and has a couple of feathers in his cowboy cap. That’s if you can get
past his voice, first. Jensen lacks any distinct character in his butch
Southern drawl, doing him no favors when he’s letting loose on "Fast Enough for
Me." Here, he sounds as unique as that one dude you saw at karaoke last week
who received pity claps after his performance of a Garth Brooks song. Jensen
just doesn’t have the vocal capabilities – or even the charisma – to rise above
country music’s Tim McGraws and Keith Urbans, both of whom could sing circles
around him (while riding a horse down a mountain). On "Crazy Beautiful," an
expression of self-empowerment, Jensen barely enunciates all together, sounding
about as bored with this cheesy Hallmark song as you’ll be listening. "I Don’t
Want to Know" reaches a climax that never climaxes (again with the flat
delivery), and "Midnight Forest Cricket Chorus" is almost passable, though
there’s no stomaching lines like "kiss and hug, god bless those bugs." It’s
admirable for Jensen to be out in the country-music world when so few are, but
OUTlaw would be better left in the closet.
Grade: C-
Plumb, Need You Now
You don’t have to be a pulpit-kneeling
Jesus zealot to worship Tiffany Lee’s alt-rock knockout. Lee, who goes by the
moniker Plumb, conceals the Christian themes with an
almost-Evanescence-sounding surge of, well, heaven on her first album since
2007’s Blink. To her advantage, the Indiana native sings with a forceful diva
belt; with a voice like that, she could recite psalms and please the most
devout atheist. Title track "Need You Now" (not to be confused with Lady
Antebelum’s much-lesser drunken love song) starts with the big drum pops of
Beyoncé’s "Halo" but then takes the power ballad back to Plumb’s rock roots.
Even though she name-drops the Man Himself, the song’s
ambiguous enough to disguise this desperate prayer for divine intervention as a
longing-for-love song. It helps, too, that she sings the hell out of it. The
same ambiguity is present on "I Want You Here" and "Say Your Name," both
burdened by a tragic loss – the frustrations, the pain, all that screaming.
Plumb’s even more lyrically striking, and thematically engaging, during the
close-to-home tragedy "Unlovable." Written from the perspective of a person
who’s been condemned for making other people feel "uncomfortable," the powerful
piece was inspired by a friend whose family disowned him for being gay. Now
about this being a "Christian" album ...
Grade: B+
Also Out
Belinda Carlisle, ICON
The best part about Belinda Carlisle’s
latest hits collection isn’t the greatness of these nostalgic gems, but the
significance of "Sun." The song is Carlisle’s first pop single in 15 years, a
club joint with a high-energy build and Kylie Minogue ethereality that honors
the ’80s singer’s roots without losing touch of modern-day dance. It fits snuggly
into Carlisle’s hit catalog – but, unless you’ve never experienced Belinda (and
to you I say, WTF?), there’s little else besides "Sun" that hasn’t been covered
on any of the icon’s umpteen other compilations.
Jamie Lidell, Jamie Lidell
English crooner Jamie Lidell is known
for his soul-doused songs and a sexy falsetto that could easily fool folks into
thinking he’s Prince – the most obvious influence on his self-titled retro
redux. Going back in time has him cozying up with some of the glittery and
funky Scissor Sister sounds; "Do Yourself a Faver" could be a Night Work_
outtake. With its "The Pleasure Principle"-ish opening, "Big Love" launches
like the best Janet Jackson single since the early ’00s, but then morphs into
something all its own with, perhaps, the album’s hookiest chorus. Get your
break-dancing shoes out.