SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2015

Music Review Wainwright Sisters keep it in the family

here can be something magical about the voices of siblings singing together, as a lis- Tten to the Beach Boys or the Everly Brothers shows. More proof comes in this subtly haunting album by Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, for whom music has always been a family affair. The half-sisters are daughters of singer-songwriter Loudon In this file picture taken on May 17, 2015, English-Irish pop band One Direction attend the 2015 Wainwright III and separate musical mothers. Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. — AP photos Martha’s mother, the late Kate McGarrigle, wrote and performed with her sister Anna, while Lucy is the daughter of Suzzy Roche of sister act Bieber, One Direction The Roches. try Themes of family and childhood run through their collaboration “Songs in the Dark,” which Martha Wainwright has described as an album to grow up on new albums of “creepy, morbid lullabies.” Recorded at a fam- ily cabin in the Quebec woods, the album is a nce squeaky clean and baby-faced teen world at large but-many fans presume-to ex-girl- mix of traditional folk tunes and new takes on This CD cover image released by PIAS shows stars, Justin Bieber and One Direction have friend Selena Gomez, a fellow former teen star and songs by the likes of Cindy Walker, Townes Van “Songs in the Dark,” a release by The Oquickly discovered the harsh realities of liv- singer. Bieber teams up with yet another teen sen- Zandt and Paul Simon - the sisters make “El Wainwright Sisters. — AP ing in the public eye. The young artists each sation turned adult, Ariana Grande, on an acoustic Condor Pasa,” popularized by Simon & released albums Friday that-while partly staying version of “What Do You Mean?” Other collabora- Garfunkel, both languid and fierce. There are eral tracks. Many of the songs are about chil- true to pop formulas that have made them rich- tors on “Purpose” include rappers Big Sean and several compositions by members of the sisters’ dren, but they are anything but cozy. Family life also lay bare their struggles at discovering adult- Nas as well as Halsey, the 21-year-old electropop own family, including Kate McGarrigle’s wistful is a journey into the deep, dark woods on songs hood at the height of their fame. “My life is a movie singer whose career has seen a meteoric rise. “Lullaby for a Doll,” written about Martha, and like Loudon Wainwright’s sardonic “Lullaby” - in and everyone’s watching,” the 21-year-old Bieber “Purpose” is not entirely absorbed by intro- “Runs in the Family” by Roche’s aunt, Terre which an exhausted parent implores, “Shut up intones near the beginning of his new album, spection. Bieber’s breathy track “Children” consists Roche. and go to bed” - and Richard Thompson’s “End “Purpose.” of unlikely, if unspecific, social activism as he sings, The sisters’ complementary voices - Roche’s of the Rainbow,” which advises, “There’s noth- “Life’s not easy / I’m not made out of steel / “What about the children? Look at all the children a little sweeter, Wainwright’s a little wilder - soar ing at the end of the rainbow, there’s nothing to Don’t forget that I’m human / Don’t forget that I’m we can change.” And Bieber’s reflective tone does over spare arrangements to create a mood grow up for anymore.” Sweet dreams. — AP real,” he sings. The Canadian singer demonstrates not necessarily mean he has changed his ways. He that’s by turns soothing, sinister and spooky. his quest for maturity not just lyrically but musical- recently ended a concert in Norway after one Special mention should go to Eloi Painchaud, ly on “Purpose,” his first album of original work in song, apparently upset over fans throwing water, whose haunting harmonica ripples through sev- three and a half years. Bieber on several tracks- and walked out of a live interview in Spain. But in including the album’s early hits “What Do You an interview with Britain’s New Musical Express, Mean?” and “Sorry”-plays with a mellow, down- Bieber argued that he had been held to a different tempo tropical house beat, moving away from his standard than other teen stars and said of his life typical pop-R&B sound that had done little to dis- now, “I’m struggling just to get through the days.” tinguish him from other mainstream pop stars. On 5th album, One One Direction rocks out before hiatus Beset by personal woes Bieber will follow his album with an extensive Bieber, who owes his new sound to LA-based tour of North American arenas starting in March in electronic producers Skrillex and Diplo, has Seattle. While Bieber is marking a return, albums Direction satisfies banked on “Purpose” to rehabilitate his star power have become a ritual for One Direction each holi- after becoming better known for his off-stage day shopping season. The English boy band has t’s inevitable that everything that’s hooks the lads bring. On “Made in the AM,” antics than his music since he put out his last released an album without fail every November good comes to an end,” sings One they add in a playful experimentation, per- album, “Believe,” in 2012. Among his most infa- since 2011 after they became famous through tal- “IDirection on “Love You Goodbye,” a haps emboldened by their pending break, mous non-musical moments, Bieber was caught ent show “The X Factor.” Yet One Direction’s new wistful song from the British band’s fifth on doo-wop and horn-flavored “Never racing a Lamborghini in Miami Beach while under album, “Made in the A.M.,” marks the band’s first studio album, “Made in the A.M.” The tune Enough,” which is, oddly enough, punctuat- the influence and without a license. A judge without founding member Zayn Malik, whose is about a romance’s demise, but the quar- ed by caveman-like grunts, and the exuber- ordered him to undergo anger management departure in March prompted surprisingly bitter tet - this is their first album since Zayn antly retro “Olivia.” Should this be their courses for throwing eggs at his neighbor’s home exchanges among the lads reputed for affability. Malik’s departure - could just as well be swan song, they leave on a high note. — AP in a glitzy section of Los Angeles, while in The band insists that it is not splitting up, but addressing their upcoming hiatus. Since Argentina another judge dropped a bid to arrest says it will go on an undetermined hiatus after their first album, 2012’s “Up All Night,” One Bieber for allegedly assaulting a photographer. “Made in the A.M.,” which followed marathon tour- Direction’s skyward trajectory has seen the On “Sorry,” Bieber offers an apology of sorts. ing that ended October 31 in Sheffield. For their band seamlessly segue from chart-topping But his regrets appear directed not so much to the perhaps final album, the young men who had albums, reliably delivered every November, become so synonymous with light pop decided to to sold-out stadium tours with little down- rock out. The song “Temporary Fix” is driven by time in between. guitars with a touch of the verve of alternative One Direction has always been musical rockers such as The Killers. “Olivia” offers a Beatles- magpies - closely referencing The Who on esque melody, while One Direction on several “Best Song Ever” or Def Leppard on tracks sounds more like Coldplay or mid-career U2 “Midnight Memories” - and that habit does- than a boy band. One Direction mostly sticks to n’t stop here. With its echoes and big drum gooey love songs but at times the lyricism also beat, album opener “Hey Angel” conjures seems wistful about the band’s stint of glory. On up Robbie Williams; the breakdown of the “Love You Goodbye,” Liam Payne sings, “It’s hit single, “Drag Me Down,” mines “I Knew inevitable that everything that’s good comes to an You Were Trouble” by Harry Styles’ ex, end.” — AFP Taylor Swift; and don’t even get me started on the similarity between acoustic crooner “I Want to Write You a Song” and the In this file picture taken on November 7, Beatles’ “Blackbird.” 2015, Canadian singer Justin Bieber poses Despite the imitation game, One on the red carpet upon his arrival at the Direction’s strength has always been the Palais des Festivals to attend the 17th vocal arrangements and the satisfying pop Annual NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, south- eastern France.