Nick Jonas & the Administration, “Who I Am” (Hollywood)
After his years spent dominating the concert and television industries with his brothers, Nick Jonas surprised us all by making a soulful, if soft, R&B record as his solo debut. “Who I Am” breaks no musical boundaries, but it is proof of Jonas’ plans.
Like it or not, kids, there is an expiration date on the Jonas Brothers. Consider them a paycheck — a big one, mind you — and a solo career will be Jonas’ Roth IRA. The weakest part of “Who I Am” is the songs, all of which were written or co-written by Jonas. It sounds like Jonas and producer John Fields set out to make an homage to the music that dominated the FM band in the late ’80s and early ’90s. They misguidedly touch on pop-metal on “Conspiracy Theory,” but they succeed on the funk-fueled “State of Emergency,” which apes Stevie Wonder’s instrumentation and Jamiroquai’s vocal riffs.
While he’s the strongest singer in his other group, that’s not saying much. Jonas has a ways to go — and grow. Ricardo Baca
Norah Jones, “Chasing Pirates Remix EP” (Blue Note)
Remixes are rarely the best — or the most representative — of any artist’s work, but Norah Jones has never been your garden-variety artist. The exceedingly smooth jazz-pop vocalist, who last year released “The Fall,” continues to push that album with an EP of remixes focusing on “Chasing Pirates,” the disc’s lead song.
Whereas the original chugged along a midtempo track of rumbling bass and cracking toms, the remixes veer into more exotic territory. Santigold and Snotty reimagine it as a sultry, buzzing lullaby, while remix collective Droogs drown it in sinister static and lurching percussion.
Unreleased studio track “That’s What I Said,” a subtly funky if forgettable number, comes to life in an “NYC” remix helmed by Beastie Boys Adrock and Mike D, which takes it into late-’90s hip-hop/electro territory.
While not essential, the “Chasing Pirates Remix EP” at least proves Jones’ good taste in choosing collaborators who broaden her musical horizons. John Wenzel
The Magnetic Fields, “Realism” (Nonesuch)
The Magnetic Fields have always relished the contrast between sentiment and production — for instance, by drowning bleak emotions in a tsunami of major-key guitars, or swaddling classic, literate couplets in bright, dime-store synthesizers.
And while leader Stephin Merritt’s songwriting credentials are unquestionable (see the Fields’ flawless run of 1990s releases), on “Realism,” his fussy temperament gets the better of him.
The opposite of 2008’s “Distortion,” “Realism” finds Merritt going unamplified and acoustic. Unfortunately, the arrangements on many songs are cutesy to the point of suffocation (see “We Are Having a Hootenanny” and “The Dolls’ Tea Party”) and the songwriting rarely justifies the treatment. Bloodless and grating, “Realism” is only a hint of what this otherwise excellent band is capable of creating. John Wenzel
