MACY GRAY
Big
(Universal)

Produced by the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, the appropriately titled Big marks Macy Gray’s return after a four-year hiatus. Whether or not it puts her back on the charts will depend on the public’s appetite for good, old-fashioned R&B, with Motown string sections and even an appearance by Natalie Cole thrown in for good measure. Gray’s scratchy voice will never measure up to contemporaries like Mary J. Blige, but she’s got more than an ample supply of tales to draw on from her challenges as a single mother after the breakup of her troubled marriage. These experiences provide fodder for songs like the unyielding “What I Gotta Do,” or the husband-offing fantasy number “Strange Behavior,” on an album whose few booty-shaking moments come only toward the end. DG

OJOS DE BRUJO
Techari
(Hostess)

Gypsy for “free,” the album title Techari may have been chosen to indicate this Barcelona band’s sense of liberty to reinterpret Spain’s flamenco and gypsy folk traditions. With hip-hop, electronica and Indian bhangra being just a few of the styles that Ojos de Brujo (“Wizard’s Eyes”) throw into their musical melting pot, nothing is sacred. The hip-hop influence comes to the fore on “Runali,” featuring Senegalese MC Daara J, while electronic atmospheres suffuse “Silencio,” and bhangra and Indian vocal ululations by singer Marina la Canillas fire “Todo Tiende.” Throughout, the eight-member band’s prodigious guitar, bass and percussion work are the bond that keeps the complex musical fusion from coming unglued. DG

YUKI KOYANAGI
Sunrise
(Warner)

It’s easy to imagine the studio getting blown away when Yuki Koyanagi is recording. Japan’s unsung soul-pop star has had a three-year hiatus, thus Sunrise is something of a comeback, and weighing in at 74 minutes with barely a lick of filler, she’s given it everything she’s got. Her newfound maturity (she’s 25) leads her to mix things up a little, and she’s also gotten meaner, reflecting the trend set by the assertive AI and Kumi Koda. Unlike them, Koyanagi, who’s done two covers albums already, has never been a J-pop trendsetter, but even on her accomplished English-language tracks (check the sultry and slighty spooky “Prelude to Suicide”), Sunrise shows again that she could out-sing any contemporary. Robert Poole

ARCADE FIRE
Neon Bible
(Merge)

The year 2004 saw Canada’s Arcade Fire release a debut album that garnered critical acclaim across the board, instantly making them a hot act on the indie scene. Temptation might have been to get greedy and churn out a hasty successor. Instead, the follow-up has been almost three years in the making and, thankfully, it’s time to get excited again. Laced with multi-layered sounds and vocals throughout, Neon Bible is a complex and dazzlingly powerful record, each play of which reveals something new. Such a disk—both rewarding and challenging in equal measure—is rare, and perseverance here reaps satisfying rewards. As a collection, the tone is ultimately brooding but also intelligent, informed and somehow never too imposing. Neon Bible is progressive, experimental indie rock at its finest. Mark Butterworth


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