Strange Days and Electric Ladies

There’s a lot of good music out there right now. Let’s get to it, shall we?

JANELLE MONAE, “THE ELECTRIC LADY” Everyone’s appropriating the ‘80s now, of course, but some do it with more style, substance, and sheer recombinant brilliance than others. The slightly sci-fi sheen of the album cover, evocative of that era, hints at the disco-rock, soulful sentiments, sheer funkiness, and high concepts within. Not that Janelle Monae limits herself to one decade or even one medium for her inspirations — she seems to draw from at least a century of pop music, stretching decades back and a few years into the future to create her bright, beautiful, all-encompassing pop.

“Three-fourths of the way through listening to the new Janelle Monae album. I want to weep, it’s so good,” I tweeted last Saturday. I shouldn’t have been at all surprised; I’ve enjoyed Monae’s music since Many Moons. She really came into her own, though, with 2010’s “The ArchAndroid” (Tightrope, with Big Boi, was one of the best singles — and videos — of that year, hands down.) The futuristic fiction-spine on which her music is built is fascinating, as is her android alter ego, but ultimately not entirely necessary to enjoy the craft and creativity of the songs.

“The Electric Lady” continues in this strange and wonderful vein, but if anything, is even better than its ecstatically received predecessor, and not even because of its array of guest stars (which includes Solange, Miguel, Erykah Badu, and appropriately enough, Prince). Monae’s innovative and organic eclecticism is still in full effect, but the songs are stronger and stick in your head more — she’s gone both bigger and more personal with the material. Janelle Monae has won awards and accolades; let’s see if this new opus heralds mass audience acceptance. One almost wishes it wouldn’t — visions of the VMAs just past still raise a shudder — but if success ensures more albums like this, then bring it on, bring it on. (Favorite tracks: Electric Lady; Dance Apocalyptic; It’s Code.)  

Soulcrate music, “welcome back from wherever you’ve been”

The advantage of being a non-American hip-hop listener is that generally, you don’t have a bone-deep, built-in attitude when it comes to the geography; you don’t much care which coast it came from as long as it sounds good. Soulcrate Music is “rap from the middle of nowhere,” as it says on their Facebook page (South Dakota, to be exact.) They deal in hard-hitting but hooky hip-hop; not self-aggrandizement but self-examination, sidestepping self-indulgence. The beats are big and blingless, straightforward but cinematic and lush where needed. The flow of the rhymes is not showy, but appropriately intense. No reinvention of the wheel here — but this is a wheel that works. (Favorite tracks: Nickeled and Dimed; Strange Days; Shot In The Dark.)  

The silver seas, “Alaska”

I loved their last album, “Chateau Revenge” from 2011. I love this one a shade less — it doesn’t have anything as catchy-quirky as What’s The Drawback, for one thing — but this is still the best radio-ready, more sweet-than-bitter ‘70s pop-rock album that somehow happened to come out this year. A little too mellow and melancholy in parts, maybe, but lovely melodies throughout win the day. (Favorite tracks: Alaska; I’m The One; Karaoke Star)