A decade in the making, Carnival II is the follow up to ’Clef’s ’97 solo debut. Working with T.I., the former Fugees member ropes in his usual gaggle of hyper-stars, in this case Norah Jones, Paul Simon, Akon, Mary J. Blige and Serj Tankian of System of a Down. The latter leads off with the passable old skool rap-metal outing “Trouble Again.” The first single is the (overly) radio-friendly “Sweet Girl,” but then things start to get interesting. “Fast Car” is an intriguing rap-folk hybrid featuring Paul Simon on an anti-capitalist screed. “What About the Baby” casts Mary J. Blige as (surprise) the spurned and angry single mother and ’Clef as the unfaithful ex-husband. “Any Other Day” once again treads into folk-rap territory with Norah Jones stealing the show, while “Touch A Button/Carnival Jam” gets the party started. DG

Since sparking the electroclash wave half a decade ago with Kittenz and thee Glitz, Chicago’s Felix Stallings has brought the concept album to dance music with a vengeance. With Virgo Blaktro, he assumes the persona of a Prince and the Pet Shop Boys all rolled up into one. The Movie Disco refers to the disco territory favored by late ’70s Italian film producers, but there are also same-era echoes of Kraut-pop a la Kraftwerk. All these influences are filtered through precise post-millennium dance esthetics, with colors that range from the filter house radio tribute “Radio” to the sexy electro-funk of “Monkey Cage.” Many of these evocative, dreamy tracks top out at under two minutes, meaning that they’re better suited to being listened to as a whole than cut up on the dance floor. DG

Joining Japan’s universe of cute-girl-next-door rock bands populated by the likes of Go!Go!7188 and Puffy are Chatmonchy. Hailing from Tokushima, the trio are now on their second album for Sony’s hip Ki/oon imprint, with a number of singles penetrating the top ten on Oricon’s singles charts attesting to their popularity. Front-chick Eriko Hashimoto has a clear and refreshing singing style that vaguely recalls Yuki’s, without being as cloyingly sweet as Chara’s. Topics that concern her on Seimeiryoku (“life force”) include slavery to fashion, the domination of mobile phones and bus romance, all delivered over a background of proficient pop-rock. Well and good, but probably only of interest to the most hardcore of J-rock otaku. DG

Back in the mid-’90s, when current flavors of the musical month Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco were just out of diapers, Jimmy Eat World were finely tuning a genre that has taken on a life of its own. Now, still only in their 30s, the godfathers of emo present their fifth full-length album. Whereas 2004’s Futures showed a darker side to the band, here they return to the rousing, more uplifting sound that popularized them circa Bleed American. A hint of melancholy does of course remain, albeit hidden under a veil of immensely catchy, hook-laden choruses. Jim Adkins’ voice is as emotive as ever, affording a real passion to both the anthems (“Big Casino,” “Electable”) and the ballads (“Dizzy,” “Carry You”). Way to teach the new kids on the block how to do it. Mark Butterworth

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