Reviews of the latest albums available for downloading and streaming!

Jeff Givens and the Mugshot Saints / Bleeding Ink

Jason Savio

It’s a welcome return for Jeff Givens and the Mugshot Saints on their newest effort, Bleeding Ink. You can always count on Givens to bare his rebel heart, and he continues to do so on this 12-song collection, with the solid backing of his band.

There’s a reason why they call Givens The Bourbon Cowboy. Throughout Bleeding Ink, you hear tales of love found and love lost as he chronicles the ups and downs he’s faced on his journey with brilliant honesty. There’s no hiding in his lyrics. On the melancholy “Beautiful Dead End Love,” he sings about being alone for the holidays: “You’re around the tree with your family tonight/I’m drunk alone and bleeding ink.”

It’s Givens’ knack for painting such a heartbreaking picture that hits a level most of us can relate to in some way. He tries finding temporary solace in “The Girl Right Now,” but by album’s end, he still can’t shake the one that got away, lamenting in “Midnight Train,” the album’s best song, “She’s out of my life and I’m out of my mind.” Add to this Givens’ aching delivery, and you can’t help but think about someone you lost along the way.

There are upbeat songs on here, too. When bourbon is involved, you can bet there would be. “Thrown’ Money Around” is a rollicking, carefree blues number, and “Seven Hot Memphis Nights” has a cool, laid-back vibe that fits its title perfectly.

For more information, visit facebook.com/JeffGivensandTheMugshotSaints.

Kylie Minogue / Golden

Mike Wood

When we heard that Kylie had gone country, we cringed, we kicked, we screamed … and then we listened. While an uneven album, we’re happy to report that Nashville hasn’t entirely dampened the dance diva’s pluck, but it has watered her down. Golden is her 14th album over a career spanning more than 30 years, so we get it: She wants to stay fresh and mix things up a bit. After all, we’ve already seen so many Kylie incarnations through the years — dance, disco, synth — but country Kylie?

Ready or not, here comes cowgirl Kylie. Maybe we’re purists, but we miss almost any other Kylie. That’s why songs like “Dancing” and “Raining Glitter” are our clear favorites on Golden — because they are infused with the dance-pop sound we’ve come to expect from Minogue’s signature hits. “Sincerely Yours” is also reminiscent of a sultrier, poppier Kylie Minogue, so we’re fans. Best of all, these entries sound like a true and confident Kylie, not an artist playing around with country for fun … and falling short.

So many of the other songs have banjos and a twang that seem more like a test or a distraction and less an artistic choice with integrity. We may get Dolly Parton-esque vibes from some of the songs, but something just doesn’t ring true. On Golden, the amazingly talented Minogue sounds like someone experimenting with country without really understanding why she did it — other than to try something different. Now that she’s got “country” out of her system, we’ll anxiously await album 15 and her sure-to-be triumphant return to pop.

For more information, visit kylie.com.

Say Sue Me / Where We Were Together

Jennifer Russo

One thing I really love about the opportunity to review albums is the chance to share with our readers some artists that I come across that they may otherwise never hear about. One band that I really like is Say Sue Me, an indie band from South Korea. Their latest album offers a refreshing and somewhat nostalgic indie sound with a slight punk edge.

The album enters with that aptly named “Let’s Begin,” which resembles something from a Twilight movie, with its very Muse-esque cadence. Very chill and thoughtful, you get a great feel for what the band is about with this song. “Old Town” was one of my favorites, with its easy, California vibe.

Though the album is pretty laid back, it is not slow. It’s supremely youthful, and there is a lot of inherent energy that comes with that. The song “B Lover” immediately made me think of the opening scene to the movie Clueless, with just a few well-chosen chords played rhythmically — in true ’90s fashion — under a breathy vocal until the bridge, where it opens up a bit more with some purposely pitchy flourishes.

Another of my favorites, “Coming to the End,” slows it down with a long instrumental intro and then some breathtaking content. On the surface, it might seem like a lighthearted song, but it’s actually quite emotionally intense. It brings in some articulate guitar work played with more force than in any other song.

I really liked this album. It’s a great chance to broaden your horizons and break some stereotypical thinking that may exist about what music sounds like in Asia. And though the band is touring Europe currently, with no plans to hit the States, I can cross my fingers.

For more information, visit facebook.com/SaySueMe1.