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Rotations: Jimmy Buffett, Lady Gaga and Pet Shop Boys have new releases

By George Pelletier - Milford Bureau Chief | May 30, 2020

On his first album of new music since 2013’s “Songs From St. Somewhere,” tropical troubadour Jimmy Buffett proves once again that he’s not a mere musical act, he’s a lifestyle choice with “Life on the Flip Side,” (Mailboat Records). And especially with a world teetering on the brink of cultural reinvention, Buffett writes and sings about what he knows best: drifting away from the real world for a little island relief. Part allure, part absurdity, the grand Parrothead (as his fans are called), recorded this, his 28th studio album at his Shrimp Boat Studio in Key West, writing or co-writing the album’s 14 songs long before COVID-19. But the CD title may give us all a glimmer of sunshine through some dark days for a flip-flopping helluva time . The record opens with the single, “Down at the La Dee Dah,” a jaunty tune that may or may not be paying homage to a true Key West staple, the La Te Dah bar on Duvall Street, famous for its impressive and often outrageous island performances. There’s also something unusual to the album’s tracks – they seem to follow in a precise order, the way a record was meant to be heard – in its entirety. With its Gulf Coast mix of country, pop and Caribbean vibe heavily peppered throughout, “Life” really is good.

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Calling all Twitter-following ‘Little Monsters’: Lady Gaga returns with her thundering sixth album, “Chromatica,” (Interscope). Collaborating with the likes of Sir Elton John and Ariana Grande (on the album’s new single, “Rain on Me,”) Gaga is back to frenetic form with an album of soaring vocals and dancehall anthems. This after taking a break to act and sing (and snag an Oscar for co-writing the song “Shallow,”) in the mega-hit “A Star is Born.” The record was originally slated for release last month, but the health crisis postponed its debut until May 29. Melodic and bombastic, “Chromatica” captures guttural Gaga on cuts like “Alice,” (an ode to inner peace), and “Plastic Doll,” which is a sugary, jittery Euro-pop explosion. A standout is “1000 Doves,” which features an infectious, piano-driven house beat. “I’d do anything for you to really see me I am human and visibly bleeding/when your smile is shaking, I’ll catch you as you fall.” The album is a lavish amalgamation of pure poetics and dance floor bangers where Gaga knows exactly where and how to flaunt her retro-futuristic strut.

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Pet Shop Boys, the uber-popular British synth-pop duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, have been playing in their musical sandbox since 1981 and on “Hot Spot,” (X2 Records), their 14th album, they dampen the euphoria a bit, yet still manage to get a little gravel in their shoes. The album, which makes a typically oblique reference to the climate emergency, is part social commentary, part magic touch. The album was recorded partly at Berlin’s Hansa Studios – famous for their one-time-collaborator David Bowie’s “Low” and “Heroes.” The dramatic opener “Will-O-The-Wisp,” is an adrenaline shot of EDM chords and pulsing beats. A song of curiosity and regret, Tennant croons, “I see you after many years/On an airplane or train /Wrangling a path, the streets of a city/Where men don’t wait in vain.” “Happy People,” is a happy song, pure and synthetic. The boys don’t seem tired of their routine; they welcome it and embellish it with aged pinache. “Hotspot,” still, makes way for cooler passages. And as Pet Shop Boys, now approaching their fortieth anniversary as a band, have released world-class albums, won almost every award it’s possible to win, and have never stopped striving for artistic fulfilment, this CD is just another jewel in the already-sizeable crown of Britain’s greatest ever pop duo. The two wear it well.

Not quite Sammy Hagar, and certainly not his octave, the band Dirty Shirley’s lead singer Dino Jelusick (of the outfit Animal Drives) knows his way around a shrilling refrain. And while the band is named after a vodka-spiked Shirley Temple, their self-titled album (Frontiers Records), is anything but kid stuff. The sound is more than partly the work of master wonder-kind guitarist George Lynch (whose other metal rock gigs include Lynch Mob, KXM and the End Machine – imagine Dokken with a real singer). “Dirty Shirley” pounds rocks the size of boulders; it’s this year’s answer to the question, who needs more cowbell? The opening track, “Here Comes the King” is a fanfare for lead singer Jelusick, who screams and howls, “In the blink of an eye I saw/Somebody left a claw, so I took it.” I doubt this song is about his last dinner outing at Red Lobster- rather, it’s a fitting intro to the band. This is vintage epic Rainbow with more bite, if that’s even possible. There are Sabbath undertones and a little Whitesnake thrown in for a metallic measure. “Siren Song,” is a thrashing throwdown, with Jelusick’s snarl and Lynch’s trademark work as the axe man. The song sounds eerily familiar and doesn’t overpower but builds with authority and intent. “The Voice of a Soul,” is a slow burn ballad (as close as it gets anyway), while “Escalator to Purgatory,” is as clever as its title proclaims, with lyrics like “Time to wake up from this misery I once called life.” It’s gritty and infectious. And while drummer Will Hunt splashes the bells of his Ziljians, this is one track that could use more cowbell.

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