Dig These Discs :: Ting Tings, Milo Greene, Jamie Cullum, George Ezra, Fifth Harmony

England is on the Dig These Discs map this week, with a new album by Manchester duo The Ting Tings, and debuts by English jazz-pop English singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum and George Ezra Barnett. Los Angeles girl band Fifth Harmony also drops their debut, with LA quartet Milo Greene releasing their second album. Little known fact: Milo Greene is the name of the band's fictitious booking agent, a button-up Brit. From the UK to LA, dig some new sounds on Dig These Discs!

"Super Critical" (The Ting Tings)

The duo of Katie White and Jules De Martino, aka The Ting Tings, have released their third studio album, "Super Critical," and it is super good. Their singles, "Wrong Club" and "Do It Again" got early releases. The nine-track cut was produced by former Duran Duran member Andy Taylor, and the Tings say it was inspired by disco. These Mancusians moved to the clubbing mecca of Ibiza to find inspiration in the warm sun, and "ended up making a song that we absolutely loved and literally stayed in that windowless studio for a year... we enjoyed every second of it!" The result is an album that is much more dancey. It kicks off with the title track, with a simple bass drum and clap tracks laying down the rhythm. "Daughter" melds an electro intro with a classic Spanish vibe, with White's trademark talk-singing style. De Martino said his favorite track is "Do It Again," for its simplicity and its groove. We agree; White's steady fire of vocals laid on top of this catchy rhythm makes it a real winner. White's fave is "Wrong Club"; she said it reminds her of the style of The Smiths. To this ear, the disco strains come out loud and clear, overlaid with the emotion of these shoe-gazers. Get your trippy trip on with "Wabi Sabi," as White sings, "I like everything that's wrong with you; I like everything that you gon' do." She turns up the heat in "Only Love" which will remind fans of their early hits like "That's Not My Name." "Communication" is a catchy little track, and so is the false-negative "Failure." But the bouncy, trippy "Green Poison" will really put you in the mood to hit the disco. Thanks, Ting Tings, for sharing your sunshine with us.
(Finca)

"Interlude" (Jamie Cullum)

English jazz-pop singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum drops his new album, "Interlude," and all I can say is, Michael Bubl� better watch his ass! This young, handsome jazz singer has talent for days, and charisma to boot. It's his seventh album, and consists of a dozen jazz covers recorded with producer Benedic Lamdin, a live band and one long take. Although Cullum primarily focuses on vocals and piano, he also plays guitar and drums. Since 2010, he's been running a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2. In the title track, he sings, "The shadow of night all around me, I walk in a moonlight solitude/ when I thought romance really found me, love was just an interlude." He adds blues in "Don't You Know," begging his love to turn the lights down low. A folksy Celtic vibe underlays "The Seer's Tower," and a jazzy trumpet score with tinkling piano marks "Walkin'" as something special. He nails these blues home with Billie Holiday's "Good Morning Heartache." Female vocals soften this song perfectly. His cover of "Sack O' Woe" could be found at a sock hop. And "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a soulful, R&B spectacular. He slows things down in "My One and Only Love," and swings them out again, deep and bluesy in "Lovesick Blues." It gets even sadder in "Losing You," when a man who has lost his last dime thinks only of his lost love, singing, "I can never get over losing you." The love is back in "Out of the World," and Cullum closes a superlative album with the chestnut, "Make Someone Happy." With this album, he does.
(Universal/Blue Note)

"Control" (Milo Greene)

Ha ha, joke's on you! Milo Greene isn't a person, it's a pop quartet from Los Angeles featuring Robbie Arnett, Graham Fink, Andrew Heringer and Marlana Sheetz. The group is relatively new; "Control" is only their second album. They say the name came from the fictitious alter-ego they created to be their upper-crust, British booking agent. The band writes songs that they can "potentially see being placed in movies and TV," and call it "cinematic pop." Their new album is an upbeat, percussive collection of 13 songs that launch with the catchy, "Gramercy" and go into the '90s vibe "White Lies," with Sheetz on vocals. The quartet is comfortable swapping roles, from vocals to instruments. The following track, "On The Fence" is reminiscent of hits by the Norwegian band A-ha. The band has a whispery tinge to their vocals, as seen in cuts like "Heartless" and "Lonely Eyes." Others are upbeat, as they sing, "Can't hide the truth, you're too young," in "Lie To Me." The keyboard gets a workout in "Not Enough," a spacey, rhythmic trek, with the repeating chorus, "It's just so hard to leave you." An extended drum break describes "Parents' House," a sad song about leaving your real self at the door. A strumming guitar paints the landscape of "Royal Blue," with haunting voices crooning in unison, "Oh wicked world, you've mistaken me for love/Take all the air out of my lungs, I was never young." The dark vibe gets a pop overlay in "Save Yourself" and "When It's Done." I guess someone needs to write music to score movies and TV shows, and it might as well be these pop youngsters.
(Atlantic Records)

"Wanted on Voyage" (George Ezra)

English singer/songwriter George Ezra Barnett drops his debut studio album "Wanted on Voyage" in the U.S. this month, after it's been out sixth months in the UK and Scotland, reaching number one. This bluesy singer has a deep bass-baritone range that the critics are going crazy for, calling it "soulful and wizened." Ezra credits his youthful obsession with Bob Dylan for that. But it's his YouTube discovery at age 18 that is really sending him into the stratosphere. To rollicking guitar, he kicks off with "Blame It On Me," with lyrics like, "we found ourselves some treasure, then threw it all away." He croons fast and free in his hit single, "Budapest," punctuating his phrases with yodeling highs. He gets into a downright country vibe in "Cassy O'", begging her not to leave. Ezra slows things down in "Barcelona," with excellent guitar accompaniment. His English accent surfaces in "Listen To The Man" and "Leaving It Up To You." The latter benefits from understated hand drums. He channels Negro spirituals in the moving "Did You Hear The Rain?" "Drawing Board" is a heartbreakingly humorous song with the intro lyrics, "I fill your pillowcase up with snakes/ the man-eating kind... There's just one problem with my plan; you spend your nights with another man, you don't rest your head with mine anymore." An up beat marks "Stand By Your Gun" from others, and a slow strum tones down "Breakaway." In "Over the Creek," he confides that he's the mess that's been left to save you. He finishes the album strong with "Spectacular Rival." For a skinny, pasty, British boy, this bloke sure has one deep, soulful sound. Ezra is currently on tour on the West Coast, cutting a wide swath through the U.S. with 53 concert dates. One is sure to be near you.
(Columbia Records)

"Reflections" (Fifth Harmony)

American girl group Fifth Harmony formed on the second season of "The X Factor," and members Ally Brooke Hernandez, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hansen, Camila Cabello and Lauren Jauregui are cashing in on their third place win with this new album. They kick off the 14-track electro-pop album with "Top Down," rapping about how they'll "blaze it up and we'll be cruising with the top down" (off their car, presumably) through the electric city. They load on the percussives, from clap tracks to bass drums, in "Bo$$," a song that gives a shout out to Michelle Obama "getting Oprah dollars." They sing of love making their pulse pound like a "Sledge Hammer" and work the hell out of middle-eastern beat in the Desi-licious "Worth It." Generic pop cuts like "This Is How We Roll" get livened up a bit by LMFAO-esque electronic distortions. "Everlasting Love" has a similar hook to J Lo's "Love Don't Cost a Thing" and "Like Mariah" functions as an ode to Mariah Carey. They go for the island beat in "Them Girls Be Like," with lots of au courant references to hashtags and "I woke up like this" and "you can't sit with us." They lay the bass on as deep as Iggy Azalea in "Reflection," singing, "you'd be rich if looking good was your profession." They promise to be his "Suga Mama" in one bouncy cut, and tell him that it will take more than a thick chain to buy their love in "We Know." They let him know he's "Going Nowhere" in the second similarly titled track this season (watch out, Jennifer Hudson!) They go for a dance floor sound in the fast-moving "Body Rock" and finish the album with "Brave Honest Beautiful," another female rocker shout-out, to Rihanna, Shakira and Madonna. Well, at least these girls give props where they are due.
(Sony Music Entertainment)