Gruska shines brightly when melody prevails

Triplets sustain tradition

E“En Garde” (Warner Records) Ethan Gruska has a well-deserved reputation for dreamy experimentation. From his work with the Fleetwood Mac-adjacent Belle Brigade to his 2017 solo debut, “Slowmotionary”, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has long demonstrated an adventurous musical spirit. Sometimes the experiments succeed, sometimes they don’t.

That pattern continues on Gruska’s latest solo offering, “En Garde”, but the wins are more frequent this time. The Los Angeles-based producer of artists like Phoebe Bridgers and The National’s Matt Berninger shows a polish and maturity that suggest he could be turning a corner as a solo artist.

The release is at its best when Gruska anchors the dreamy atmospherics he’s known for in a sturdy foundation of melody. That’s a big step forward from “Slowmotionary”, his occasionally ponderous first album. More direction, focus and structure have helped to elevate the soundscapes.

That pays off nicely on the album’s better cuts, delivering tunes that will find their way onto many a mellow playlist. The best of these, “On the Outside”, allows a gentle but slightly serrated electric guitar to lead the way through a soulful bop. “Maybe I’ll Go Nowhere” and “Enough for Now”, with Bridgers contributing background vocals, are both well-served by melody.

When Gruska veers too far from structure, his songs come across as ungrounded. The experimentation is laudable and the playing impeccable, but sometimes there’s a lack direction and the lyrics don’t have much heft. It’s like a fine-looking car with no engine under the hood, much less a discernible place to go.

Still, there’s enough to like in the album’s best songs to make Gruska an artist to keep watching with enough promise to hint that better things lie ahead.

Gruska

By Scott Stroud

“The Family Songbook” (Trimeter Records)

On their new album, “The Family Songbook”, The Haden Triplets sustain the longstanding musical tradition of siblings singing in harmony while also expanding their family’s musical footprint, which goes back generations.

On the second album they’ve recorded as a group, Petra, Rachel and Tanya Haden, daughters of legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden, interpret a wide range of songs.

The selections include not just American folk standards like “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Flee As A Bird”, but a heart-breaker from Kanye West, “Say You Will”, and even a composition from their brother, Josh.

Also aboard are four previously unpublished songs from their grandfather, Carl E. Haden. They may have been sung on the the Haden Family radio show in Missouri in the 1930s, where Dad Charlie got his start as a yodeling toddler, but were not recorded. Their recovery is a real treat.

The four dusted-off works include “Memories of Will Rogers”, an homage to the actor and humorist who died in a 1935 Alaska airplane crash, and the lovely but fatalistic “Who Will You Love”.

But it’s not all shimmering vocals, either, as the excellent backing ensemble includes such esteemed players are guitarist Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz on pedal steel, drummer Jay Bellerose, percussionist Joachim Cooder – whose father produced The Haden Triplets 2014 debut – and bass players David Piltch and Larry Taylor, among others.

While harmonies dominate but there are occasional solo spots, like on the magical “Every Time I Try”, written by brother Josh, which also features some excellent guitar work from Doyle Bramhall II.

“ACCA” (ALA.NI) Paris-based, London-born ALA.NI’s second album, “ACCA”, astounds with its artistry, an adventurous, almost-all acapella recording whose intricate arrangements and instantly-familiar melodies prove irresistible.

The self-produced “ACCA” expands on the promise ALA.NI showed on “You & I”, her 2017 debut – a timeless album featuring her crystalline singing and songs set during the four seasons of a year-long affair – and opens a wide horizon for her musical future.

While the songs are dominated by her layered vocals, ALA.NI gets some assistance on several tunes from beat boxer Dave Crowe, while Iggy Pop recites in French in a possible Leonard Cohen homage on “Le Diplomate” and also has a much more typical cameo on “Bitch”.

There’s also some bass guitar, cello and accordion, while a discrete string quartet performs on the gentle, lullaby-like “In the Land”, and on “Hide”, which sounds the most like a “You & I” bonus track. Lakeith Stanfield’s rap on “Van P” provides a bit of contrasting frenzy.

Stylistically, ALA.NI proves to be quite resourceful, taking the songs in both traditional and more modern directions. “ShaLaLa”, as you may have guessed, is in a doo-wop mode, while “Papa” and “Van P” are basically stripped-down contemporary. “Papa” in particular is ripe for a smart, respectful remix, its beats and chants practically dance floor ready.

Opener “Differently” sounds like an ode to diversity or romantic skills, but, a bit like The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”, it can also have a more ominous interpretation, a sentiment that also fits the dense and intense “Wales”.

“Away Go” ends “ACCA” on a purely vocal note, as ALA.NI bares her heartbreak and makes it impossible to listen without being affected by her emotional plea for separation.

“Bad Boys for Life Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” (Epic/We the Best Music)

Some soundtracks are as important to their movies as the actors delivering lines on-screen. But the “Bad Boys for Life” soundtrack is less of an unseen character, and more of a mood. And that mood is decidedly “fast-life Miami” – a perfectly adequate sonic backdrop for Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) to chase bad guys all over the Florida city.

The soundtrack features hometown favorites, including Mr 305 himself, Pitbull, on the Lil Jon-assisted anthem “Damn I Love Miami”. Then there’s Rick Ross alongside Bryson Tiller on “Future Bright”, which samples ‘90s R&B hit “Touch Me, Tease Me” by Case.

Miami’s City Girls steal the spotlight, though, with their song “Money Fight”. “Ain’t no Netflix and chill/ Throw 10 bands, let a (chick) know it’s real,” rhymes JT, one-half of the duo. Another standout track comes from out-of-towners Quavo and Rich the Kid on the DJ Durelproduced “Bad Moves”. (AP)