New albums: Murs, Jack’s Mannequin
Kevin Bronson on
1
[Quick blurbs on a couple of albums released today:]
Murs, “Murs for President” (Warner) — The L.A. underground sensation just keep getting better. His seventh album (and major-label debut) is a playground of sprightly production — a little R&B, a little pop, a little kitchen sink. Will.i.am and Snoop Dogg turn up, but they’re not really needed. If you don’t shake, clap and laugh to this one, you’re paralyzed.
||| Live: Murs does a free in-store at 6:30 tonight at Amoeba, and it will be streamed live.
Jack’s Mannequin, “The Glass Passenger” (Sire) — There will always be a spot in my heart, and on my shelves, for the songs of Andrew McMahon. Few are more adept at connecting with my inner teenager (yeah, he’s there), with the ex-Something Corporate frontman’s marriage of reliably pretty melodies and lyrics kids scribble on the outside of their binders. If I have one beef with this glossy follow-up to “Everything in Transit,” it’s that the Orange County-bred songwriter has fallen into the soft verse/big-chimey chorus formula. Great for radio, not for staying power.
I might have Leaving Through the Window in my record collection. But I would never confirm such a thing.