Jason Mraz, "Yes!"

Morrissey

“WORLD PEACE IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS”

Harvest Records

Now, more than ever, Morrissey is an artist who inspires superlatives. So it’s no surprise really that “World Peace Is None of Your Business,” his first album in five years, shows him at his best and worst.

“Staircase at the University” conjures up memories of his early solo days, shortly after he left The Smiths, when he was fascinated with creating a disconnect between his music and his lyrics. Here, the music is the sunniest it has been in years, an upbeat, almost danceable mix of horns, swirling synths and hand claps crowned with a flamenco guitar outro that sounds nearly giddy. So, of course, it tells the dark tale of a stressed-out university student, hounded to get good grades, who commits suicide. “She threw herself down and her head split three ways,” Moz sings sweetly.

“Staircase” is so good that it’s almost maddening to slog through much of the album, with its intentionally off-putting noise-rock touches, plodding arrangements and mean little stories. In “Kick the Bride Down the Aisle,” he compares the bride to a greedy cow, wanting to get married “so that she can laze and graze for the rest of her days.”

The clever title track of “World Peace Is None of Your Business” is meant to provoke an investigation into the political process. Unfortunately, too often, Morrissey simply wants to provoke, which ends up feeling hollow and pointless.

— Glenn Gamboa,

Newsday

Old Crow Medicine Show

“REMEDY”

ATO Records

This year finds Old Crow Medicine Show courting mainstream approval with their fifth studio album, “Remedy.” Opening with their trademark hillbilly badinage on the one-two punch of “Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer” and the frenetic “8 Dogs 8 Banjos,” the wine, whiskey, women and guns of earlier releases remain, but more so as articles of foible rather than revelatory ingredients as on the twangy “Firewater,” a cautionary tale of alcoholism.

The centerpiece of “Remedy” is the album’s first single, “Sweet Amarillo.” Filled out with Ketch Secor’s fiddle and the band’s vocal harmonies, it is ready-made for radio play. Elsewhere, “Firewater” and the trope-filled patriotic tale “Dearly Departed Friend” are the album’s only country-tinged songs. As a whole, “Remedy” errs on the side of bluegrass.

Somewhat bloated at 13 songs, “Remedy” contains a few toss-offs. The too obvious future live staple “S–t Creek” borrows and doubles up Simon and Garfunkel’s wordless chorus from “The Boxer.” More a fragment of an idea than a song, the lonesome album closer “The Warden” can only serve as a philosophical counterpoint to opener “Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer.”

ON TOUR: Sept. 24 — Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland; www.portland5.com or 800-273-1530.

— Eric Risch,

PopMatters.com

Trampled By Turtles

“Wild Animals”

BanjoDad Records

“Wild Animals” is Trampled By Turtles’ seventh studio album, and it finds the group focusing on the quieter, folkier aspects of their sound. The production, courtesy of Low’s Alan Sparhawk, is crisp and clear, and lead singer Dave Simonett’s vocals show an impressive degree of vulnerability, something that fits nicely with the abundance of quiet songs on the album. Sadly, Simonett’s songwriting leaves a lot to be desired here, and the bulk of “Wild Animals” ends up sounding utterly nondescript. The band is still mostly known outside its fan base for high-speed bluegrass and acoustic covers of indie rock songs, and this album probably won’t do anything to change that reputation.

It’s not that tracks like the loping “Silver Light,” the waltzing “Repetition,” or the spare and open-sounding title track are bad. They are perfectly listenable songs in the modern folk-grass mold. But they are exactly the kind of songs you’d expect from a band in this genre, and Trampled By Turtles has almost no musical tricks up its sleeves to surprise listeners. Simonett’s lyrics aren’t particularly emotionally affecting, and his songwriting offers very little in the way of variety.

While “Wild Animals” is not without its charms, there certainly aren’t enough of them to make it a successful album. Nothing on “Wild Animals” is interesting or distinct enough to set Trampled By Turtles apart in this increasingly crowded genre. So it’s probably good that the band already has an established fan base that will forgive this particular misstep and stick with them anyway.

ON TOUR: Oct. 19 — McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, Portland; www.cascadetickets.com or 800-514-3849.

— Chris Conaton,

PopMatters.com

Jason Mraz

“YES!”

Atlantic Records

Jason Mraz’s new album would more accurately be called “What?!” “Yes!” works, too, though, showing that the “I’m Yours” singer is once again embracing his more experimental interests with good results.

That means we get an unexpected, stripped-down but still faithful version of Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” that is surprisingly beautiful. We get the uplifting folkie cliffhanger of “3 Things,” which starts with “There are three things I do when my life falls apart.”

Unfortunately, it also means we get some songs that are a little too cutesy (“Hello, You Beautiful Thing”) or straightforwardly earnest (“Best Friend”).

ON TOUR: Oct. 24 — Keller Auditorium, Portland; www.portland5.com or 800-273-1530.

— Glenn Gamboa,

Newsday