In their groove

Manila visitors Nicole Scherzinger (of Pussycat Dolls and Filipino ancestry) and Owl City’s Adam Young clock in with new studio albums — and they both come in at an opportune time. Nicole’s purported solo album has been the buzz for over a year now, and it’s good to see it finally hitting the record racks; while Owl City has had earlier unreleased material come out, and the new album is far more mature, current and worthwhile.  

Nicole Scherzinger — Killer Love (MCA Music, Inc.). Some quarters may have begun scratching their heads, wondering what happened to the smooth transition Nicole should have enjoyed from focal point of Pussycat to solo artist. An aborted first version of said solo album didn’t help, but thanks to a stint as judge on X Factor, and staying in the headlines with Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, the public is still ready to embrace this at long last solo effort. Dance tracks like Killer Love, Club Banger Nation and Don’t Hold Your Breath work fine, and ballads like Everybody and AmenJena show off her technical proficiency. The song with Enrique Iglesias (Heartbeat) works better than the one with Sting (Power’s Out), but in toto, it’s one solid outing!

Standing from left: Carlon Matobato,Anj, John and Jmee. Seated from left: Ian, Cheeno Macaraig, Meann Espinosa and Happy Consta

Owl City — All Things Bright and Beautiful (MCA Music, Inc.). If you loved Ocean Eyes (Owl City’s first outing), you’ll find even more to enjoy in this far more textured bunch of new songs. There’s humor in Deer in the Headlights, a duet with a female singer on Honey and the Bee and Yacht Club and a rapper on Alligator Sky, while my current favorite, Dreams Don’t Turn to Dust, is a bouncy winner. In fact, that’s what precisely stands out in the album, more energy and upbeat numbers. Of course, there is that sameness given Adam’s adenoidal vocal delivery; and is it just me, or do all the verses sound alike and Adam just changes up on the chorus of his compositions? Still, it seems to work and goes down ever so smoothly.