Nick Lowe

“THE OLD MAGIC”Yep Roc Records“Prepare yourself for some blues to descend,” Nick Lowe warns on “Stoplight Roses,” the exquisite ballad that opens his new album.

We probably didn’t need the warning. Since he rebooted his career with 1994’s “The Impossible Bird,” the 62-year-old Brit has eschewed the exuberant roots-rock and winking, ironic tone of his “Jesus of Cool” days for a mellower and more emotionally direct style that suits his dominant new persona — lovelorn and reflective.

Lowe mines that vein for more gold on “The Old Magic.” With originals like “House for Sale” (“Whatever happened to my happy home?”) and Tom T. Hall’s “Shame on the Rain” (“… for making me twice as blue”), he’s careful not to sound like just a mope.

He’s aided in that endeavor by a spare but resonant accompaniment, largely grounded in country-soul. Just in case, he does summon the old pep a couple of times, with “Checkout Time” and “Somebody Cares for Me.”

They break the languid pace, but they don’t really break the overall mood.

While others are painting the town, the solitary singer, as he puts it in another number, reads a lot.— Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Katy B

“On a Mission”Columbia RecordsBecause we needed another pop diva named Katy.

Only this time, Katy B is a very different creation than Katy Perry. Whereas Perry attained worldwide fame via accessible melodies, sinfully addictive hooks and good, old-fashioned sex appeal, Ms. B arrived via a very different path.

Katy B’s “On a Mission” was released in the U.K. in April, drawing attention for its genre-skipping love of electronic music. Instead of hiring the biggest names in pop music (Perry, for example, worked with Swedish hitmaker Max Martin) B worked with stars of the U.K. underground, including Geeneus, the groundbreaking DJ/founder of Rinse FM radio in London.

After months of U.K. love, which included a prestigious Mercury Prize nomination, “On a Mission” was released stateside in September. And in a way, it’s the perfect record for late 2011.

This release is more adventurous and spirited than anything Perry has ever released. And B has a voice that is ideal for the Year of Adele — a full-bodied, voluptuous alto as seductive as it is authoritative.

It helps, too, that her preferred mode — from bass-heavy dubstep to fun-loving house music — has never been bigger. Electronic music is filling arenas as often as rock ‘n’ roll anymore, and that might just help B become a mainstream presence a la Bassnectar and Tiesto.

The dark beats and sassy vox of “Disappear” make for a savvy update on the trip-hop model, which needed the polish B provides. “Katy on a Mission” is an expert melding of her two worlds, electronic and pop, and she handles the crossover with more grace than the Black Eyed Peas and more street cred than David Guetta.

Katy B and her smart team of producers are teaching a thing or two to pop artists, who’ve been relying more and more on electronic production for their hits.— Ricardo Baca, The Denver Post

Sonny Rollins

“ROAD SHOWS VOL. 2”Emarcy RecordsTenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who recently turned 81, is arguably the hardest blowing jazz reed man of all time. The session here captures him in his best setting: live. Most of the CD is from Rollins’ 80th birthday concert at the Beacon Theater on Sept. 10, 2010, at which rhythm section chores fell to an eminent team: bassist Bob Cranshaw, guitarist Russell Malone, drummer Kobie Watkins and percussionist Sammy Figueroa.

The set is cool because guitarist Jim Hall shows up for a cozy “In a Sentimental Mood.” Rollins teases the audience by highlighting a mystery guest, fellow tenor man Ornette Coleman, who proceeds to lay down his wacky lines on “Sonnymoon for Two,” which Rollins answers on a similarly cosmic plane.

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Roy Haynes are all guest glitterati too. With his gray Afro now like a halo, Rollins remains at the center, growling ferociously and still playing lines that seem to cascade down mountains. Catch it while you can.— Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Demi Lovato

“Unbroken”Hollywood RecordsIt’s tough growing up in the spotlight, as Lovato, who started on “Barney and Friends” at 7, could tell you. But as a singer, she’s evolving quickly.

Her third album is a frisky, club-suitable outing, right from the first track, “All Night Long,” a contagious Timbaland-produced jam with Missy Elliott. Even the ballads, like “Together,” a duet with Jason Derulo, are beat-enriched.

Too bad the midsection gets soggy and overly earnest. At 19, Lovato doesn’t have the chops to handle Kelly Clarkson-like material — although she gives it a pretty good shot on “Skyscraper.” Maybe next time, kid.— David Hiltbrand, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Wilco

“The Whole Love”ANTI-RecordsWilco’s eighth album, “The Whole Love,” is bookended by a seven-minute snarl of sound collage and battling rhythms (“Art of Almost”) and a 12-minute folkie epic that tackles life and death (“One Sunday Morning”).

So, yeah, a lack of ambition is no longer a problem.

After the three pleasant but increasingly settled albums that followed the breakthrough “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” Wilco has once again reasserted itself as a rock band filled with wild ideas and loads of issues to work through.

As the title suggests, singer-guitarist Jeff Tweedy has opted for a more holistic approach, tackling issues of love and life from a variety of vantage points, both lyrically and stylistically.

He can be straightforward and playful, as he is in the upbeat single “I Might.” He can be moody and contemplative, as he is in the orchestral folk of “Black Moon.” And he seems on the surest footing with the clattering defiance of “Born Alone,” driven by churning guitar that gradually gets increasingly more agitated as Tweedy declares, “I was born to die alone.”

“The Whole Love” is overflowing with cool twists and unexpected turns — like the bloopy synths that invade the otherwise Tin Pan Alley-era “Capitol City” — meant to confound conventional thinking.

Is Wilco an experimental rock outfit or an alt-folk group looking to tell interesting stories over pretty backdrops? “The Whole Love” suggests the answer to both questions is “Yes!”— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday