Discovery

"LP"

XL Recordings

Release: July 14

5 out of 5 Stars

Oh boy, was I thrilled when I heard earlier this year that members from two of my recent favorite bands, Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot, would be forming a side project. I could only imagine what genius this combination would come up with.

Then I found out “LP” would be a sort of electro/R&B concept album. Wait ... what?

Expectations went plummeting down.

Ra Ra Riot singer Wes Miles and Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij are two of the whitest white guys on God’s green earth; how the hell could they possibly come up with a good R&B album?

Well, what a surprise it turned out to be.

“LP” may lean more towards an electro-pop realm, but there is a definite, and surprisingly strong, R&B foundation for the entire album.

In fact, as surprisingly great as “LP” is, as well as Dirty Projectors' “Bitte Orca,” I think a new genre term may be in order: R&Indie.

“LP” has a decidedly more upbeat approach to R&B, the product being something bright and sunny with only a hint of melancholy.

Each song shines like a star, and the stronger the R&B influence, the brighter they shine.

The album rockets off with “Orange Shirt,” a jittery spree laced in Autotune and mirrored vocals.

“I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” features singer Angel Deradoorian of the aforementioned Dirty Projectors which sounds like a quirky response to a Mary J. Blige/Jay-Z duet, starting off grimy, before dusting itself off and showering in glitter.

“So Insane” loops like a rainbow, exploding with color showcasing just how much singer Miles can emote.

“Carby” features Vampire Weekend vocalist Ezra Koenig, who seems to do a dead-on impersonation of Usher at the verses, before breaking into something totally different on the choruses.

Every element meshes perfectly on “Osaka Loop Line.” It’s definitely the most electro-poppy of the album, with only tinges of R&B detectable, but that fade in and out of staticy synth, along with shimmering dream sickle flurries, clap-clap drum and echoing swirls, creates a neon whirlwind of color, light and musical genres into something completely new.

I should warn you that this is a sort of “love it or hate it” album. It’s obvious what side of the fence I fall on, and I know I’m now hoping for many more R&Indie albums in the coming months.

Blue Roses

"Blue Roses"

XL Recordings

Release: July 21

4 out of 5 Stars

I think this might be the sound of falling in love.

Blue Roses has already launched off in her native Britain, but will be attempting to do the same stateside with her self titled release on XL.

With her delicate voice and strolling acoustic guitar, she seems poised to garner a loyal following of hopeless romantics and lovebirds.

The album is a simply gorgeous affair. Blue Roses paints that sort of impeccable natural landscape — dashes of vibrant flowers in an ankle-high field of grass with the sun slowly peeking over the clouds and mountain ridges.

The music box that is “Doubtful Comfort.” kind of slides in between something haunting and something that will take your breath away. It’s reliant upon its placement to determine what shape it takes, much like a china doll.

“I Am Leaving” comes across like a romantic moment out on the lonely highway, while the road-weathered “Rebecca” feels both beaten and full of life.

“Greatest Thoughts,” the leadoff, is hard to match. You listen as the music runs through a gamut of emotions, dipping through strength and weakness, delicate and fierce. The piano will pull at your heartstrings, pluck them out and then mend them back.

There is not much of anything new about “Blue Roses;” you have heard music much like this on numerous occasions I’m sure. But it’s her delicate hands and zeal that shape this album into something beautiful instead of something dreary.