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Another Brandy album, and another winner

Brandy
``Two Eleven‘’
(RCA/Chameleon Records)

Not many singers have released six consistently amazing albums. Brandy has.

Her newest, ``Two Eleven,‘’ is a collection of R&B songs that are personal, flavored and fantastic. The album doesn‘t miss a beat, as Brandy’s raspy-yet-earthy tone weaves into each song‘s beat nicely to create outstanding tracks that will have you listening again and again.

First single and R&B hit ``Put It Down,’‘ co-starring Chris Brown, is full of swag and one of the year’s best thanks to its addictive beat, courtesy of producers Bangladesh and Sean Garrett. And when she slows it down, Brandy is just as good: ``Do You Know What You Have‘’ is smooth and top-notch, as is the Rico Love-penned ``Hardly Breathing.‘’ The latter is an emotional tune, as Brandy sings about heartache and heartbreak with lyrics like: ``One more teary eye, or sleepless night, just might kill this heart of mine.‘’

Most of ``Two Eleven,‘’ which features songwriting by Frank Ocean, Mario Winans and Breyon Prescott, finds the 33-year-old singing about a relationship -- she‘s happy at times and questioning her man at others. The jams ``So Sick’‘ and ``Wish Your Love Away’‘ are self-explanatory, but then there’s ``Slower,‘’ a love tune co-written by Brown, and the upbeat ``Let Me Go,‘’ which samples a Lykke Li song and is about her lover keeping her around.

``Two Eleven‘’ stands for Feb. 11, Brandy‘s birthday and the day her mentor, Whitney Houston, died. The icon would be proud.

(AP)

Hooky melodies, tricky rhythms by Pinback

Pinback
``Information Retrieved’‘
(Temporary Residence Ltd.)

More than half a century after the birth of the rock band, guitarists remain limited to six strings and a dozen notes, so it’s tough to carve out a distinctive niche. But Pinback has managed the feat. The San Diego duo sounds like no one else, and therein lies its appeal.

On the group‘s fifth album, ``Information Retrieved,’‘ Zach Smith and Rob Crow are up to their familiar tricks, yet somehow sounding fresher than ever. Aside from occasional reminders of R.E.M., the influences are tougher to identify than with most groups.

The 10 songs here are jangly, jittery and full of fascinating interplay. Crow weaves his jagged guitar parts around Crow’s tuneful bass lines, while they trade off vocals and sometimes sing in counterpoint. The melodies are hooky, the rhythms tricky and the lyrics quirky.

``Denslow, you‘ve just about had an idea so bad it’s actionable,‘’ goes one lyric from ``Denslow, You Idiot.‘’ Distinctive doesn‘t always mean good.

(AP)

All aboard Jason Aldean’s ‘Night Train’

Jason Aldean
``Night Train‘’
(Broken Bow)

Jason Aldean blends hard-rock sonics with country music themes better than any of his contemporaries, as he proves once again on his fifth album, ``Night Train.‘’

But his multi-platinum success depends just as much on his willingness to break formulas and take chances. Aldean has made every album with producer Michael Knox as well as with his road band backing him in the studio. That symbiotic relationship keeps getting tighter and more ferocious with each outing. It gives Aldean‘s music an edge lacking in most current Nashville country rockers.

``Night Train’‘ shows how confident the singer is in his crew. There’s the fierce guitar squawks set against the arena-rock drum beats in the chorus of ``Feel That Again.‘’ There‘s the Zeppelin-style acoustic opening of ``Wheels Rollin’,‘’ which also features an imaginative guitar solo. And a synthesized carnival sound pops up behind the rocking arrangement of ``This Nothin‘ Town.’‘

No one else in country music is creating music that sounds anything like these songs. That distinct quality runs like a high-watt third rail through ``Night Train’‘ -- and explains why Aldean has electrified the American heartland with his music.

(AP)