Gaslight Anthem

Credit: Mercury

New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem return on July 24 with “Handwritten,” their first album since 2010’s fine “American Slang.”

The set, the group’s fourth album—but first for Mercury Records— was produced by Brendan O’Brien, who has also helmed records for the band’s hero, Bruce Springsteen, as well as Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots.

The band will be previewing new material from the album starting with a show at Brooklyn’s Music Hall on May 16 and Lost Angeles’s Roxy on May 18, with a number of festival dates, including Bamboozle, Metallica's Orion Festival, and Lollapalooza, to follow.

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Carrie Underwood, "Blown Away"

Credit: Sony Music Nashville

When “American Idol” is finally said and done in the year 2143, history will show that Carrie Underwood was the finest vocalist the talent show produced.

She has a purity and power in her voice that none of the other contestants can match. In a world where we’ve grown grateful for singers who can stay on key, Underwood’s talent would stand out in any era.  She’s able to belt without her voice losing any of its strength or fire and on her fourth album, “Blown Away,” out May 1, her confidence as a vocalist and her ability to harness her talent shines throughout, even if the quality of the songs does not.

A bonafide superstar in the country world, Underwood is getting the creme of the crop when it comes to material. Plus she’s coming up with her own ideas: she co-wrote eight of the 14 songs on here, as well as tapping into such top-tier Nashville tunesmiths (and past Underwood contributors) Hillary Lindsey, Josh Kear, Luke Laird and Chris Tompkins, and pop meisters like OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder and Mutt Lange. The result, however, is a mixed bag with the songs running the gamut from ranking among her her best to wondering who the hell let some of them on the album.

Beyonce

 

Credit: AP

1) Tupac Shakur:  His virtual appearance at Coachella leads to a very real boost in sales as his “Greatest Hits” reenters the Billboard 200 for the first time in 12 years. The title landed at No. 129, with a 571% sales gain over last week.  His track “Hail Mary” saw a 1,530% increase to 13,000 downloads.

2) Beyonce: People names her the World’s Most Beautiful Woman. Blue Ivy coos, “I already knew that.”

3) Record Store Day: The fifth annual event, held April 21, helped indie record stores’ sales soar 26% last week. Guess what? Indie stores are open year round.

4) Ryan Seacrest:  He will be with us forever and always--or at least through 2014:  He signed a $15 million deal to keep him hosting “American Idol” for two more years.

5) Carrie Underwood: The former “American Idol” champ leads all artists with five nominations for the 2012 CMT Music Awards. Her legs receive 10 nods.

6) Michael Rapino: The Live Nation head made $11.9 million last year. He can afford to pay the service charge on concert tickets, but what about the rest of us...

7) The Beach Boys: They kick off their 50th anniversary tour in landlocked Tucson. What? Kokomo was booked?

8) Maroon5: The exposure from “The Voice” continues to pay off for lead singer/coach Adam Levine as the group scores its biggest first week debut ever on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Payphone.” They wanted to call home to share the news, but couldn’t find a working payphone.

9) Death Grips: They brought in the tastemakers with 2010’s “Exmilitary.”  Now the Sacramento-based industrial hip hop outfit (for lack of a better description) gets ready to grab the rest of the world by the throat with its new Epic Records debut, “The Money Store.”

10) Coachella: The alternative music festival in the desert successfully expands to two weekends with a pair of sellouts and raves all around. As  Mae West said, “too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”

The cover of Jack White's "Blunderbuss"

 

Going solo apparently suits Jack White well. The former White Stripe and Raconteur is poised to score his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 next week with his first solo album, “Blunderbuss.”

That means Lionel Richie’s two-week run at No. 1 with “Tuskegee” ends, but Richie only slips to No. 3, with Adele’s “21” rising 3-2, according to Hits Daily Double.

White is one of four likely new titles in the top 10: Country singer Lee Brice’s “Hard 2 Love”  is in a dead heat for No. 6, vying with Jason Mraz’s  “Love is a Four-Letter Word” and fellow country artist Kip Moore’s “Up All Night.” With two days left until the chart closes, they are all slated to sell between 35,000-40,000. The last new entry will be The Wanted’s self-titled EP at No. 10.

For those aware of album titles, Moore’s entry means that there will be two albums in the Top 10 next week with the same title: Moore’s set and One Direction’s “Up All Night,” which will probably be No. 4. 

Rounding out the top 10, Nicki Minaj’s former No. 1, “ Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” will be at No. 5 and Gotye’s “Making Mirrors” at No. 9.

John Mayer

Pack your bags, we’re riding shotgun on a road trip with John Mayer. In the video for “Shadow Days,” he takes us on a triptych across the West and Southwest-- from California to Idaho and Arizona and beyond. He’s traveling solo, but there are stops along the way: a diner,  a convenience story, a guitar shop.

The shaggy-haired Mayer is sporting a hat much like the kind producer Don Was, who helmed  Mayer's new album, “Born & Raised,” sports, as well as a few days’ scruff so we’re thinking Was definitely rubbed off on him not only musically, but fashion-wise. And he certainly got a beautifully nuanced guitar performance out of him on "Shadow Days." 

[More after the jump...]

Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart

Credit: AP Photos

As fans will see for themselves when they hear Haley Reinhart’s debut album, “Listen Up,” out May 22, the  “American Idol” season 10 contestant has really come into her own. Her sultry voice wrapping around the album's  jazzy and soulful pop melodies recalls Amy Winehouse, Dusty Springfield, and Regina Spektor.

Though her fellow Season 10 contestant and buddy Casey Abrams does not appear on her album, it sounds like she might guest on his forthcoming Concord album, set for release this summer. The two released a spirited version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" as a Christmas gift to their fans and have reunited for more.

We interviewed Reinhart yesterday about the new album, but also asked if the pair had recorded anything new. “Yes, we actually just had something in the mix and I’ll let him talk about that; it’s nothing that I’ll give away," Reinhart said. "But yes, we are getting together and doing more stuff...We could never leave each other in that way. We have to continue to do stuff together.”

[More after the jump...]

 TLC

Credit: AP Photo

First Tupac, now Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes?

Ten years after her death, Lopes’ bandmates in TLC told TMZ that they are planning a reunion tour and hope to make Lopes’ image and voice a part of the concert.

Lopes “appeared” with remaining members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas once before posthumously, according to MTV, on what was called TLC’s Final Concert at a 2003 radio show. Lopes’ image was projected onto video screens.

TMZ reports that the group has already book five cities on the 2012 tour, with more to be added. While the outlet inferred that she would appear “Tupac” style,  it’s unclear if Watkins and Thomas plan to use old footage of Lopes or create new footage as Digital Domain and AC Concepts with Shakur’s image for Coachella.

More as it develops. We gave our thoughts on the matter here.

Usher

Credit: AP Photo

Usher moves from the dance floor to the bedroom on new single, “Scream.” 

The club thumper is all about pleasing his woman and living in the moment. Although the mood is totally set by the sexy, mid-tempo groove, some of the lyrics definitely go down as his worst. We can live with the trite “Imagine me whisper in your ear that I wanna take off all your clothes,” but “Relax and get on your back if you want to scream” sounds decidedly unromantic and a little creepy, even coming from someone as smooth and undoubtedly skilled as Usher.

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Florence Welch looks particularly like the Evil Queen from "Snow White and the Huntsman" in this performance during the first weekend of Coachella earlier this month.

Credit: AP Photo/Chris PIzzello

Florence + the Machine’s ethereal, dramatic music is the perfect match for “Snow White and the Huntsman,” the second of this year’s two Snow White themed movies...the one that stars Charlize Theron.

On “Breath of Life,” group namesake Florence Welch surrounds her considerable pipes with strings, operatic background singers, chanting, and drums to create an atmospheric theme that conjures up images of doom and danger.  Quite frankly, it sounds like it could have worked just as well in “The Hunger Games.”  You won’t be singing along to it, but it sticks in your mind after only a few listens.

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Mark Foster receives a deep facial at his local salon in the music video for "Houdini".

Credit: Columbia Records

After repeated viewings of Foster the People’s video for “Houdini,” we’re not sure if the trio is making a fun video or a much deeper commentary on life in the pop music machine... either way, it works.

The boys are playing live when a lighting rig crashes down on them to disastrous effect putting their concert that night in jeopardy. But never fear, a league of scientists and masterminds put the band back together again, fixing all their wiring and moving parts (leaving the question as to whether they were real to begin with or always a creation). The team of scientists resurrecting them even turns the group into a boy band with dance moves straight out of N’Sync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye” video. Mystery men in green suits (who, like a green screen in filming won't be visible to those watching)  manipulate their every move.

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