Pop

You'd think feathery falsettoed soul man Maxwell, after waking up from an eight-year Rip Van Winkle absence, could reward his adoring fans' patience with more than nine new songs, including one instrumental, the closing "Phoenix Rise." That'll be forgivable, though, if the newly Afro-less singer really does make good on his promise to follow up with two more albums in 2010 and 2011 - allegedly to be titled blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT. As for the Bsn at hand, it's largely bedroom business as usual, and in Maxwell's case that's a good thing. As his delicate hit "Pretty Wings" demonstrates, he remains an Al Green-schooled boudoir singer par excellence, backed by a subtle and effective (and horn-fired) band skilled at reinforcing his pleas for forgiveness and suggestions that his paramour "prove it to me in the nude," as he does at the start of "Bad Habits." You might wish he'd quicken the pace every now and then, but at a time when hip-hop and R&B are ruled by robotic Auto-Tuned machismo, Maxwell's deeply musical sensitivity is more than welcome back.

- Dan DeLuca

Spinnerette
Spinnerette
(Anthem/RED **1/2)

Nobody puts Brody Dalle in the corner. She may have ceased the frank function of her trash-can band the Distillers (America's most melodic hard-core act of the current decade's early years) after Coral Fang (2003) to be a married mom and partner to Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. But Spinnerette - the band and its eponymous full-length debut - act as if barely a week has passed.

Is Spinnerette slicker than her previous band? You bet, but no sleeker than that last Distillers album. There are pretty choruses to be found in "The Walking Dead" and "Distorting a Code," synth-pop ripples throughout "Baptized by Fire," and even a nod to Fleetwood Mac-like whimsical folk on "Impaler."

Spinnerette isn't perfect. It can be a mishmash of too many things, including the lackluster stoner blues of "A Prescription for Mankind." Yet the biggest slick shock is Dalle's voice. It's still a ciggie-and-whiskey rasp that embraces soul-stirring carnality as few women vocalists currently have the guts to muster. But also she's gargling honey on cuter cuts like "Cupid" and making romance more fun and less dangerous ("Sex Bomb") than the Distillers ever thought necessary.

- A.D. Amorosi

Ginuwine
A Man's Thoughts
(Asylum ***)

On the day Michael Jackson died, Ginuwine - one of modern R&B's silkiest crooners - appeared on Fox News and CNN to pay farewell to the King of Pop and sing the praises of his influence. It seemed odd that this onetime Timbaland collaborator, so used to busily hyperactive beats and carnal rhapsodizing, would speak in Jackson's gentle name.

That is, until you listen to A Man's Thoughts.

Though there's nothing in Gin's sultry purr that is immediately reminiscent of Jackson's tics or pitches, there is the tradition of elegant melody and lustrous harmony that MJ embodied from his earliest days at Motown to his last album. Ginuwine's grown-'n'-sexy approach to music and lyrics now is about stewing and building slowly to climax on tracks such as the quietly storming "One Time for Love" and the epically simmering "Last Chance." The confident sexuality is there, of course, but tempered by maturity. When he sings the crisply funky "Show Off," Gin isn't just looking to lust. He's asking the ladies in the house to be proud of their bodies. And even when he haughtily reteams with Timbaland (and Missy Elliott) on the mesmerizing "Get Involved," their provocative results are more nice than naughty.

Michael would have been proud.

- A.D.A.

stellastarr*
Civilized
(Bloated Wife **1/2)

When New York outfit stellastarr* released its first album in 2003, it defined itself as an '80s-inspired post-punk/new wave act. It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was grandiose, spirited, overwrought, and a lot of fun. Civilized, the band's third full-length release, retains the ethos of stellastarr* - the affected, faux-British vocals of guitarist Shawn Christensen, the crystalline backup vocals of bassist Amanda Tannen, and melancholic yet flowery melodies - but the carefree passion and immediacy of the band's older albums is missing. With a few exceptions, notably the anthemic "Prom Zombie" and the energetic "Sonja Cries," Civilized is austere and moody. Gone is the primal energy of the early records, and in its place are pleasant rock melodies amid ambient harmonies, conjuring images of pristine Scandinavian landscapes more than raucous East Village concerts.

- Katherine Silkaitis

Country/Roots

Through the various permutations of his trance-blues, Otis Taylor has created a stark, spellbinding portrait of African American experience - and established himself as a true original. Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs finds him, as usual, adding some new wrinkles.

In writing about love this time, Taylor can be as raw and vivid as ever - from the longing of "Looking for Some Heat" to the heartache of "Silver Dollar on My Head" and the deceit and murder of "Dagger by My Side." "I'm Not Mysterious," about a prepubescent come-on, even flashes some humor ("I've got a little red wagon, you can use it anytime").