‘A Head Full of Dreams'
Coldplay (Atlantic/Parlophone)
Coldplay goes disco is the three-word shorthand that pretty much sums up the bombastically mild British quartet's seventh album. It's a deliberate yang to the yin of 2014's “Ghost Stories,” a head-down-at-the- piano (though, of course, ultimately uplifting) platter occasioned by the breakup of Chris Martin's marriage to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Though “Ghost Stories” tended toward the solemn and shadowy, “Head” puts on a Technicolor dreamcoat and heads out on the town. A soundtrack to the public life of a newly single dad who suddenly finds himself dating Jennifer Lawrence (a now-kaput liaison said to be the subject of “Adventure of a Lifetime”), “Head” works hard to get you to shake your booty and think deep thoughts, too.
“Life has a beautiful, crazy design,” Martin sings in “Amazing Day,” and “Kaleidoscope” not only contains a reading of 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi (by American poet Coleman Barks), but also self-importantly includes a sample of President Barack Obama singing “Amazing Grace” at a Charleston, N.C., church as part of a funeral in June for mass-shooting victim the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney.
All that might make “Head” sound heavy-handed, but as produced by Scandinavian dance-pop-makers Stargate and featuring guest spots from Swedish pop singer Tove Lo and, yes, American superwoman Beyonce, the quite catchy music is, in fact, lighter than air. Which renders “Head” more fun than your typical Coldplay album, but not more substantial.
‘The Buffet'
R. Kelly (RCA)
R. Kelly contends he wrote 462 songs for his 13th album of sex, sentimental soul and heavenly salvation. That seems an awful lot of stress for these 13 casual songs (18 on the deluxe version, and well worth the extra money).
It's not that this album's delightfully sonorous mix of torrid and tender isn't equal to his best. He can do anything, whether it's singing, composing or producing. On the aptly titled “The Buffet,” there's a relaxed song about barbecuing, “Backyard Party,” that, shockingly, isn't a sexual metaphor (he saves the heavier-handed stuff for “Marching Band” and “Poetic Sex”). There's oddly passable blues and C&W on “Sufferin' ” and “Barely Breathin'.” There's even a touching love song for and with his daughter, Ariiraye, in “Wanna Be There.”
The worry with “The Buffet” is that it all seems so easy for Kelly by this point that even the most sensual vocal run, stirring soul vibe, or angular hip-hop rhythm (as in “Switch Up”) is rote, devoid of density, fury and real ardor. “The Buffet” is great, but not challenging. And Kelly's talents require challenge.
