CLEVELAND -- A potential and potent new pop force rises from the east with the debut album of Seoul K-pop girl group Blackpink. Also this week: New recordings from Bon Jovi, Queen, DaBaby, Lana Del Rey and more.
Album of the Week: Like the Temptations and the Supremes -- maybe -- BTS gets a sister act of sorts in Blackpink, a K-pop quartet from Seoul that’s already hot thanks to its “Ice Cream” collaboration with Selena Gomez. The girl group now comes with its debut full-length, “The Album,” that it hopes will be another “Dynamite” proposition from across the Pacific pond.
Album Title of the Week: Dolly Parton, “A Holly Dolly Christmas” (Butterfly/12 Tone Music);
Did Ya Know?: The Jaded Hearts Club Band is an ad hoc all-star troupe featuring members of Muse, Jet, the Zutons and the Last Shadow Puppets. It’s new “You’ve Always Been Here” (Infectious Music/BMG) covers songs by the Four Tops, Vera Lynn and more.
New & Noteworthy: Bon Jovi, “Bon Jovi 2020” (Captain Kidd Corp/Island); Mariah Carey, “The Rarities” Columbia/Legacy); DaBaby, “Blame It On Baby” (South Coast/Interscope); Dawes, “Good Luck With Whatever” (Rounder); Lana Del Rey, “Violent Bent Backwards Over the Grass” (Interscope); Queen + Adam Lambert, “Live Around the World” (Hollywood); Rodgrigo y Gabriela, “Mettavolution Live” (Rubyworks/ATO); William Shatner, “The Blues” (Cleopatra)
Also Out: Ace of Cups, “Sing Your Dreams” (High Moon); Jake Allen, “Affirmation Day” (Six Degrees); Amaranthe, “Manifest” (Nuclear Blast); Kristen Beckwith, “A True Story” (self-released); Aloe Blacc, “All Love Everything” (BMG); Briqueville, “Quelle” (Pelagic); Buscrates, “Blasting Off” (Bastard Jazz); Jordan Caiola, “Only Real When Shared” (The Orchard); Camina, “Te Quiero Mucho” (self-released); Brent Cobb, “Keep ‘Em On They Toes” (Ol’ Buddy/Thirty Tigers); Joachim Cooder, “Over That Road I’m Bound” (Nonesuch); Deerhoof, “Love-Lore” (Joyful Recordings); DevilDriver, “Dealing With Demons” (Napalm); Andrew Farris, “Love Makes the World” (BMG); Ferris & Sylvester, “I Should Be on a Train” (LAB); Eli Fola, “Soundscape to Freedom” (Techafrique);
Gabriel Garzon-Montano, “Aguita” (Jagjaguwar); Goldminds, “Signals” (Romantic Rights); Groove Armada, “Edge of the Horizon” (BMG); Clay Harper, “Dirt Yard Street” (Casino Music); Hoops, “Halo” (Fat Possum); The Hunna, “I’d Rather Die Than Let You In” (300 Entertainment); King Mothership, “The Ritual” (Century Media/3DOT); LANY, “Mama’s Boy” (Polydor/Interscope); Lil Bootycall, “23” (Warner); Lore City, “Alchemical Task” (self-released); LVCRFT, “The Sequel” (self-released);
Melanie C, “Melanie C” (Red Girl Media); Mountain Man, “Mountain Man Sings Simple Gifts” (Nonesuch); Nachtblut, “Vanitas” (Napalm); The Nudge Party, “Midnight Manor” (New West); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, “Disney Goes Classical” (Decca); Siiga, “Gemini Rising” (Mod y VI); Silver Synthetic, “Out of the Darkness” (Third Man); Chris Smither, “More From the Levee” (Signature Sounds); Sufjan Stevens, “The Ascension” (Ashtmatic Kitty); Corey Taylor, “CMFT” (Roadrunner); Ward Thomas, “Invitation” (WTW Music); TSHA, “Flowers” (Ninja Tune); 21 Savage and Metro Boomin, “Savage Mode 2” (Slaughter Gang); Various Artists, “The Liz Swados Project” (Ghostlight); Andreas Vollenweider, “Quiet Places” (Made in Germany Music); Roger Waters, “Us + Them” (Legacy); Bonnie Whitemore, “Last Will and Testament” (Aviatrix); Woodes, “Crystal Ball” (self-released); Working Men’s Club, “Working Men’s Club” (Heavenly Recordings)
From the Vaults: Herb Alpert, Herb Alpert Is..." (Herb Alpert Presents); Ingrid Andress, “Lady Like (Deluxe)” (Warner Music Nashville); Bangles, “Gold” (Crimson/Demon); Kenny Carter, “Showdown: The Complete 1966 RCA Recordings” (Kent/Ace); Dave Edmunds, “5 Originals” (Retroworld); Fitz & the Tantrums, “Live in Chicago” (Dangerbird); Ella Fitzgerald, “Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes” (Verve/UMe); Brantley Gilbert, “Fire & Brimstone: Deluxe Edition” (Valory Music Co.); The London Suede, “Beautiful Ones: Best of the London Suede” (Edsel/Demon); Mina, “The Queen of Italian Pop: Classic Ri-Fi Recordings 1963-1967” (Ace); New Order, “Power, Corruption & Lies (Definitive Edition)” (Rhino/Warner); Nickelback, “All the Right Reasons: 15th Anniversary Special Edition” (Rhino/Atlantic); Oasis, “What’s the Story Morning Glory? (25th Anniversary Vinyl Edition)” (Big Brother); Osibisa, “The Boyhood Sessions” (Red Steel Music); Jon Pardi, "Heartache Medication (Deluxe Version); Robert Plant, “Digging Deep: Subterranea” (Es Paranza); Rascal Flatts, “Twenty Years of Rascal Flatts: The Greatest Hits” (Big Machine/Disney); Shania Twain, “The Woman in Me: Diamond Edition” (Mercury Nashville/UMG); Various Artists, “If I Have to Wreck L.A.: Kent & Modern Records Blues into the 60s, Vol. 2” (Ace).