Do you remember when a new Blondie album was cause for celebration? No matter how uneven they might have been (see The Hunter ), it didn't matter because Debbie Harry could sing the dictionary and still make you want to dance. Pollinator (BMG), Blondie's first studio disc of new material since 2014's Ghosts of Download, is a radiant, star-studded affair that will keep fans buzzing for a while. Harry, whose solo career kept her busy between Blondie albums, is in good voice throughout Pollinator . "Doom or Destiny," a duet with Joan Jett, gets things off to a rocking start. "Long Time," co-written by Harry and Blood Orange, is a solid reminder of Blondie's connection to the dance floor. So are the vintage disco of "Fun," co-written by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, and the new wavy "Too Much," co-written by band member Matt Katz-Bohen. The album also includes compositions by Johnny Marr ("My Monster"), Sia ("Best Day Ever") and Charli XCX ("Gravity"), while Laurie Anderson helps the band bring things to a close on "Fragments."
Coming as it does after 2014's remarkable The Violet Flame, Erasure's 17th album World Be Gone (Mute) had some big shoes to fill. While it doesn't quite equal its scorching predecessor, World Be Gone spins forth on its own merits. Wondrous opening track "Love You to the Sky" deserves to be a hit single for the duo, gay vocalist Andy Bell and keyboard master Vince Clarke, now in its 32nd year. The mood is one of trouble, a musical reflection of the times. From the "struggle to survive" of "Be Careful What You Wish For" to the social commentary on "Lousy Sum of Nothing," World Be Gone sounds like a companion piece to Depeche Mode's similarly-minded Spirit disc. The "ghosts along the Castro" and the "fight for rights" in "Still It's Not Over" may be Erasure's first official gay anthem. With the bouncy final track "Just a Little Love," Erasure gives us something to think about while we dance.
If the bands Jellyfish and ABBA had an orgy with the soundtrack to La La Land, the resulting progeny might sound something like Hang Jagjaguwar), the amazing new album by Foxygen. Hang class=apple-converted-space> features eight lush and lustrous pop songs that traverse time periods, sometimes even in the same song. "Avalon" merges ABBA with tin-pan alley. "Follow the Leader" pays homage to retro soul, and "Mrs. Adams" crosses Lou Reed with Broadway. The glam "America" tosses red, white and blue sparkles at the flag, and "On Lankershim" is a 21st-century country-rock update. The anthemic "Rise Up" closes the disc on an empowering note.
On Heartworms (Aural Apothecary/Columbia), its first album in five years, The Shins (led by James Mercer, also busy with Broken Bells) deliver a disc full of earworms. Beginning with the giddy feminist pop of "Name for You," the psychedelic flashback of "Painting a Hole," and the Beach Boys update "Fantasy Island," Mercer also includes a number of 21st-century new wave touches on "Cherry Hearts" and "Rubber Ballz (FCC)." He even refers to his teenage flat-top, "so new wave," on the personal "Mildenhall."
The goth subculture sprang fully formed, black eyeliner, dyed-black hair and black clothing, from the 1980s new-wave scene. A debt of gratitude is owed to The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and Bauhaus. On Goths (Merge), the gorgeous new concept album by John Darnielle's band The Mountain Goats, some of those darkwave devotees get their due. Because Darnielle is a prose writer, his songs have a depth and intellect often missing from something written by, say, The Chainsmokers. Seriously, where else can you hear the level of genius in the songs "We Do It Different on the West Coast," "Rain in Soho," "Unicorn Tolerance," "Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back to Leeds," "Stench of the Unburied," "Paid in Cocaine" and "For the Portuguese Goth Metal Bands?" And a horn section? Very highly recommended.