Cat Power - "The Greatest"
Label: Matador.
If you like: Beth Orton, Nick Drake.
Song to download: "Love & Communication"
3 1/2 stars (out of four).

Cat Power (Chan Marshall) built her musical reputation on the casually eccentric pronouncements of a dreary, disenfranchised young woman who is equal parts fragile, wobbly, sad and talented.

Marshall's past low-fi eccentricities tend to create a compelling state of brilliance and boredom that perfectly reflects the ups-and-downs of an unflinchingly honest person who, frankly, has always seemed capable of something ... greater.

Cat Power's The Greatest - Marshall and the great Hi Rhythm Section that backed Al Green and Ann Peebles at the height of their 1970s soul powers - finds Marshall at her most fully developed and approachable. No songs fall apart. There is no surfeit of dodgy material. There is no slip into lethargy.

The disc is wholly accessible (which is not to say slick), and Marshall's wistful portraits of dread and confusion are supported by the humility and grace of musicians who know how to embellish and stay out the way. Even the horns and strings that shade some songs are integral to the overall mood in such a way as to seem like natural extensions of Marshall's smoky voice.

There is nothing naive about these economical examinations of love, loss and the uncertainties of life. "Hate," "Love & Communication," "Willie" and "The Greatest" are fully inspired - intrinsically Southern without tripping into genre cliches, eclectic without slipping into solipsism.

The Greatest is suitably haunting and melancholy, yes, but it is also a lovely burst of creative confidence that well serves Marshall, her music and her fans.

- Ed Bumgardner.

J Dilla - "Donuts"
Label: Stones Throw.
If you like: Slum Village.
Song to download: "Dilla Says Go"
3 stars.

Geniuses sometimes die young. For innovative hip-hop producer J Dilla, death came from a heart attack at the age of 32, three days after his instrumental album, Donuts, was released.

He left an indelible mark on hip-hop culture - he worked with such performers as Common and A Tribe Called Quest and he founded the hip-hop group Slum Village.

On his latest and maybe last album, J Dilla (also known as Jay Dee) crafts laid-back grooves, slightly strange but inviting nonetheless. These 31 sweet confections of sound stick to ears like glaze on donuts.

Most songs last no longer than a minute or so. J Dilla still packs plenty in these short musical bursts, blending in slick scratches, quirky sounds and sharp soul samples in unpredictable yet effective ways. Sometimes, the experimentation doesn't work, but when it does, which is often, you hardly want the jam to end.

J Dilla never sought mainstream success; instead, he forged a path all his own. In doing so, he made an impact as solid as his beats.

- Michael Hewlett.

Mutemath - "Mutemath"
Label: Teleprompt.
If you like: The Police, Codeseven.
Song to download: "Noticed"
3 stars.

Mutemath is another band that has chosen to market its own music rather than sculpt its sound to fit the whims of a major label.

If Mutemath, the band's debut album, is any indication, such creative freedom will benefit the band and all fans in search of new sounds. Mutemath is easy to embrace. The band's approach is artful and experimental, balanced by well-written and arranged songs. Electronic washes mix with euphoric drumming and guitars to flit between spatial dreaminess and anthemic scruffiness. The result is a musical riptide in which prog-rock leanings intermingle with mainstream pop smarts.

The most tangible touchstone is singer Paul Meany's vocal resemblance to Sting, circa The Police, but the band never settles into one groove long enough to stick a label on. Combine this with the disc's considerable melodic allure, and Mutemath stands as a great deal of fun. Call it ... good music.

(Mutemath will perform at 8 p.m. Monday at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro and at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte.).

- Ed Bumgardner.

Rosanne Cash - "Black Cadillac"
Label: Capitol.
If you like: Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin.
Song to download: "Black Cadillac"
3 1/2 stars.

Singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash has long used her art to work through life's pitfalls, so the arrival of Black Cadillac - released after the deaths of Cash's mother, stepfather (Johnny Cash) and stepmother (June Carter Cash) - is no surprise.

The disc's tenor is set by the opening title cut - a biting portrait of grief and loneliness that resounds with dark truths. But this deeply personal song cycle is more than a meditation on death. It's a search for peace and understanding, a sustained meditation on the interaction of love, identity and loss. These narratives, flush with raw emotion, never slip into mawkish sentiment as each track weighs a different state of awareness - from the anger of "Burn Down This Town" to the realization of "The World Unseen" to the resignation and acceptance of "God Is In The Roses." The arrangements are haunting and lovely, and the pristine performances are poignant - sweet, mournful, reflective, revealing and touching.

Black Cadillac transcends the pettiness of genre - it's a hard journey to an enlightened place where love defeats death, and memories ultimately bring a sense of place.

- Ed Bumgardner.

Jaheim - "Ghetto Classics"
Label: Warner Brothers.
If you like: Ginuwine.
Song to download: "The Chosen One"
3 stars.

Calling your album Ghetto Classics, as R&B singer Jaheim does on his latest release, certainly raises expectations.

A classic song should last long after it fades from frequent radio play. And Jaheim has most of the elements needed to make that happen - a soulful voice and a solid production.

KayGee, a member of the 1990s rap group Naughty by Nature, discovered Jaheim, who emerged on the scene with his single "Could It Be." For his third album, Jaheim has crafted a sound reminiscent of such past balladeers as Teddy Pendergrass.

Jaheim's voice is forged in pain and joy, full of the kind of grit that cannot be created in a studio. It is a voice that draws its strength from deep within.

As on his other albums, Jaheim inhabits the thug/romantic aesthetic. He could call a woman out for playing him, as he does on "Like a DJ." He might compare a woman's loving to a drug habit, as he does on "Fiend." Or he simply might sing a woman's praises, as he does on "I Ain't Never."

This disc has few gimmicks, except for the appearances of two rappers, and that's good. But is it a classic? He comes mighty close.

- Michael Hewlett.

The Soledad Brothers - "The Hardest Walk"
Label: Alive Records.
If you like: Rolling Stones (1965-1972), Flamin' Groovies.
Song to download: "Truth Or Consequence"
3 stars.

The Soledad Brothers have been a fixture in the rough-and-tumble Detroit music scene since 1995. The band's raucous, ramshackle blend of blues and garage rock was a big influence of The White Stripes, so much so that Jack White, the Stripes' mastermind, produced a single for the band.

The Brothers' new album, The Hardest Walk, its fourth, is by some measure its best - a feverish disc that is long on attitude, ambience and scruffy appeal. The influence of the early Rolling Stones cannot be denied. Singer Johnny Walker conjures the moaning ghost of Jagger past, and a number of songs, particularly those rooted in blues, swagger, swing and stomp with offhanded charm. The band's garage-rock roots remain in play - perfect musicianship remains less important than creating and sustaining a vibe. Some of the album's best solos - what few there are - are little more than controlled chaos.

The spirit of raw-boned rock 'n' roll, mixed with its country-blues precursor, thrives in The Hardest Walk. If rock died, nobody told these guys - thank goodness.

- Ed Bumgardner

Ed Bumgardner and Michael Hewlett are writers for the Winston-Salem Journal