Canadian chanteuse Diana Krall returns with a whisper on “This Dream of You” (Verve), her 15th studio album. Winner of five Grammys, Krall has the uncanny knack of getting a listener’s attention with the hush of a sound- her slightly raspy voice wraps around songs here such as “Autumn in New York,” and “How Deep is the Ocean.” A retro throwback, Krall recorded the tracks on “Dream” during studio work completed with her producer Tommy LiPuma in 2017. It’s everything you’d expect from a Diana Krall record – right down to the feeling that you’re sitting in a darkened lounge. The tracks are smooth and moody and sound quite familiar. The only deviation from her stock is the title track, penned by Bob Dylan. The album also features an impressive lineup of musicians, as the compilation presents Krall in duos, trios and quartets with pianist/arranger Alan Broadbent, guitarists Anthony Wilson and Russell Malone, bassists Christian McBride and John Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton, plus numbers with violinist/fiddler Stuart Duncan, guitarist Marc Ribot, Dylan’s own bassist Tony Garnier, accordionist Randall Krall and percussionist Karriem Riggins. Krall’s vocals remain cool and sultry on this relaxing and redolent retreat away from the woes of the world. One standout is “Just You, Just Me,” originally sung by Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. The guitar licks are gentle, the drums joyful, the fiddle pure sugar. “Dream” is one tender trap worth the trip.

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Richard Colson Baker, a.k.a Machine Gun Kelly, is a 30- year-old American rapper and singer from Cleveland, but his sound and approach to making music is anything but middle America. With “Tickets to My Downfall” (Bad Boy/Interscope Records), the motor-mouthed rap star is aiming for the mainstream and comes pretty damn close. A pop-punk album (Blink 182’s Travis Barker plays drums and executive produced), “Tickets” features a change in ammo and the results are on target. It’s a speedy record at just 36 minutes. On Howard Stern’s show recently, MGK said he wasn’t switching genres, “I just added on to the multiple things I’ve already done anyway.” Channeling angst and isolation, “Tickets” echoes past punk triumphs like Blink 182’s “Enema of the State” and Sum 41’s “Order in Decline.” It’s a love-letter to all things punk rock. MGK clearly kicks up his boots by paying homage to the likes of Jawbreaker and Green Day, while avoiding the trappings of replication and nostalgia. There’s nothing cookie-cutter about this record. Highlights include the caffeinated “Kiss Kiss” and “My Ex’s Best Friend,” the latter which rivals anything pop-friendly to come out of punk rock since the Ramones. MGK rings out the lyrics like rubber bullets being pelted at you. The tracks might be short, but the pandemonium is long. And MGK can do whatever he freaking wants.

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There is nothing subtle about a Deftones record. Loud and brash, these alternative metal heads don’t mince words on “Ohms” (Maverick). Hailing from Sacramento, Deftones won a Grammy in 2000 for Best Metal Performance for the song, “Elite.” These days, the band is hitting harder than ever, and “Ohms” rocks though it’s probably their most mosh-friendly album that they’ve conceived since the ’90s. The songs here are focused, and their renewed love of hard-rocking guitar riffs may rekindle the band’s relationship with fans that might have abandoned them after 2000’s “White Pony.” “Ohms” features hyperfuzzed out bass and a stuttering riff on “Radiant City,” while “Error” drips with tension and an ecstatic crescendo with a bit of a nod to Sonic Youth. Deftones like to expand their horizons, yet sometimes it feels like the band gets stuck fighting middle age. Bookending the album are two songs, “Genesis,” and the title track, cleverly balancing two dispositions: the fight against the passage of time and the lament of time wasted. That said, the album is perfect for the year that 2020 has been. Like recent times, the beauty of “Ohms” doesn’t always make perfect sense, but then again, it’s not a perfect record. The songs are often disfigured and ugly, just like the news. And through the ten tracks, there are highs and lows which might be a tad more optimistic than anyone of us can claim we are at in this moment in time. For many, “Ohms” might be an escape from the wreckage. For the rest of us, it’s an escape from reality.