OneRepublic: Native

New release (Mosley Music Group/Interscope)
Photo by Piper Ferguson

Resistance is futile. That's all I could think of when faced with a song as deliberately catchy and lushly produced as "Counting Stars," the leadoff track on Native. OneRepublic's third album is the kind of stuff that can borrow beats from electronic dance music while remaining true to its pop heart. It's the kind of material that adapts as easily to gospel choirs ("Feel Again," "Preacher") as it does to a ponderous, Peter Gabriel-style drum pattern circa 1982's Security ("Can't Stop"). And it's the kind of lyricism that can say, "If I lose myself tonight / It'll be by your side," and make those lines seem like a sweet vow, even though they were inspired by singer/songwriter Ryan Tedder's fear of flying.

Sometimes, as on "What You Wanted," the sonics can get a bit too big for their own good. You do wish that the pensive acoustic guitar on "I Lived" would be allowed to carry the track the whole way through, and that the mean electric guitar on "Light It Up" could do the same. Thankfully, the band does keep a lid on "Au Revoir." And when OneRepublic offers a supreme singalong like "Something I Need," well, hell, enough with me giving pointers. I'd rather just give in.

Harper Simon: Division Street

New release (Tulsi/[PIAS] America)
Photo by Charlie Gross

Harper Simon is the son of Paul Simon. Now forget I said that. Harper certainly wants us to; he'd also like us to disregard his self-titled 2010 debut, whose country/folk/roots style he has deemed, in retrospect, "something of a misstep" because he isn't interested in being "an Americana act." On the follow-up, Division Street, he and his co-producer, Tom Rothrock (Elliott Smith, Beck), are interested in making a racket. Although the idea may have been to do a neopsychedelic take on the Velvet Underground and the Rolling Stones, the result is largely impenetrable, with a sound that Harper believes is "lo-fi" but that, more often than not, is merely dense and dirty. Drummer Pete Thomas is underused on several plodding, dumb-beat tracks. And when things perk up, Harper overdoes it: Tracks like "Dixie Cleopatra" and "Nothing Gets Through" are just a rush of murk. Meanwhile, Harper's vocals try to hover above it all, but they're incongruously angelic and largely undermixed.

All is not lost. "Eternal Questions" and " '99" actually sport attractive melodies, with a more leavened sonic approach. And it has to be said that the primarily solo-acoustic-picked "Just Like St. Teresa" is the best number here. Sure, it's the one that sounds closest to the early tunefulness of Dad. But it's the best because it comes across as being the most honest to the son, whereas so much of the album has him going too far out of his way to make a departure. In the end, Division Street is as awkward as the Roches donning a full band for many songs on their second album, 1980's Nurds - although that record ultimately succeeded because the strength of the material still managed to come through. (BTW, Nurds was produced by Roy Halee, who helmed prime Simon & Garfunkel and the earliest of Simon's solo work. Hmmm.) Here, it's impossible to appreciate the majority of Harper's material because it simply can't rise above the din.

Lil Wayne: I Am Not a Human Being II

New release (Young Money/Cash Money/Republic; tour dates)
Photo by Jonathon Mannion

The "sequel"-crazy rapper Lil Wayne (whose projected Tha Carter V reportedly will be his final album before retirement) continues to be, um, in your face. His label didn't provide me with advance music, but I can tell you that track titles include "Gunwalk," "Trigger Finger," "Beat the Sh--," "Rich as F---," and what was originally called (but still is colloquially known as) "Bitches Love Me." Apparently, complex.com can tell you some interesting stats about the album lyrics. Number of references to shooting people: 38. Number of references to having sex: 63. Number of times he says "bitch": 102. Number of times he uses the N-word: 182. Then again, The New York Times will tell you that Lil Wayne is "Still an Ecstatic Rebel Spirit, but Easing Up on Shock." Either way, proceed at your own risk.

Alan Jackson: Precious Memories, Volume II

New release (Alan's Country Records/EMI Nashville; tour dates)

Feeling a little grimy after reading that blurb on Lil Wayne? Then you might want to cleanse yourself with this release, wherein Alan Jackson provides a sequel of his own - to his 2006 album of hymns and traditional gospel songs. This volume actually includes "Precious Memories," along with "Amazing Grace" and nine other selections.

Attacca Quartet: Fellow Traveler - The Complete String Quartet Works of John Adams

New release (Azica/Naxos; calendar)

Although this is its first commercial CD, the Attacca Quartet has been active since 2003, when it came together at the Juilliard School. Over the past decade, the foursome has won several awards, including the Alice Coleman Grand Prize at the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition in 2006 and First Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in 2011. Attacca gave the Alice Tully Hall premiere of Adams's 2008 two-movement String Quartet, which is included here along with John's Book of Alleged Dances, the 1994 collection of 10 short pieces accompanied by a pre-recorded rhythm track. Rounding out the CD is the world-premiere recording of the 2007 work Fellow Traveler, a pithy 5-minute tribute to theater director/librettist Peter Sellars, who collaborated with Adams on Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, Doctor Atomic, and A Flowering Tree.

Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4 (Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä)

New release (BIS, hybrid surround SACD; calendar)
Photo by Ann Marsden

The Minnesota Orchestra launched its Sibelius symphony cycle with Nos. 2 and 5 - a 2012 release that received a Grammy nomination for Best Orchestral Performance. This is the follow-up, which, like its predecessor, is available on a hybrid surround SACD. Conducted by the Minnesota's music director, Osmo Vänskä, the symphonies were recorded in Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall, with producer Robert Suff leading the BIS team.