Dig These Discs:: Passion Pit, Josh Groban, Reba, Low Cut Connie, Odessa

Reba McEntire sings her heart out about lovin' someone and the inevitable heartbreak that comes with it, in her new album, "Love Somebody." With a flourish of strings that is lovely to hear, multi-platinum recording artist Josh Groban launches into the first single from his new album, "Stages," and follows it with stunning renditions of Broadway classics. Critically acclaimed California songstress Odessa drops her anxiously awaited self-titled full-length debut this month. American indietronica band Passion Pit, aka Michael Angelakos, drops his third album, "Kindred" this month. And Philly rockers Low Cut Connie release their third album, with not a miss in the bunch. For those about to rock, we salute you!

"Love Somebody" (Reba McEntire)

After a five-year wait, country music legend Reba McEntire drops her 27th studio album, "Love Somebody," the first on her new label, Nash Icon Records, a division of Big Machine Label. It starts off with a spitfire song, "Going Out Like That," with McEntire singing "been a while since she put that red dress on and slipped into those high heels," noting that you'd never know she was doing through a break-up, that "there's not a single tear messing up her makeup." She's not going to let anyone see her crying into her drink. This was a song originally sung by a man, but it does well under McEntire. Jennifer Nettles sings on "Enough," a soft song about a two-timing man, sang by both his unsatisfied women. "She Got Drunk Last Night" is a sober look at a lonely woman. She is in it for the long haul in the fast-moving, catchy tune "Livin' Ain't Killed Me Yet." She follows it with the soft piano tune, "That's When I Knew," a song about not knowing you're over your last love until you've found your next, singing, "it felt so good to feel good again." Another lost love tune follows, "I'll Go On," a tearjerker. McEntire sings with a tinge of spite in the fast-moving sour-grapes tune, "Until They Don't Love You," but buffers the sharp edges in "Promise Me Love," as she lists all the chances love makes you take. McEntire gets wistful as she says goodbye in "Just Like Them Horses," but returns to a frank assessment of love in "Love Somebody," singing about the hurt and heartbreak that comes part and parcel with loving somebody. The piano ballad "Love Land" deals with a woman pregnant out of wedlock, getting hastily married in a Las Vegas wedding chapel where they "move them in like cattle." The end result will leave you in tears. She meshes bagpipes and fiddles with the beat of a drum in the marching dirge "Pray for Peace." Fans who buy the album at Target will get two free tracks. You hate to see a relationship end, but break-ups sure make for great music. Give 'em hell, Reba!
(Nash Icon Records)

"Stages" (Josh Groban)

With a flourish of strings that is lovely to hear, multi-platinum recording artist Josh Groban launches into the first single from his new album, "Stages," the theme song from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Pure Imagination." It's a lot lusher than the version Gene Wilder sang in "Willy Wonka," and Groban admits that being from a film that inspired a play, it just barely made the cut, but he included it because he said he loved to sing it. The album covers some of the greatest musical theater songs ever, which Groban describes as "gorgeously arranged songs that have stood the test of time," and which he was drawn to because of their combination of "incredible melody with an incredible story." The album was recorded with producers Humberto Gatica and Bernie Herms in both Los Angeles and London's Abbey Road, with a 75-piece orchestra. Groban's voice soars on "What I Did For Love" from "A Chorus Line" and the "Les Miz" track "Bring Him Home." Groban sings beautifully in French in "Le Temps Des Cathedrals" giving Bruno Pelletier a run for his money. He keeps it sweeping (and creeping) with Andrew Lloyd Weber's "All I Ask of You" from "Phantom of the Opera," with vocals by Kelly Clarkson. He gets a '50s band sound from "Try to Remember" from "The Fantasticks," which must be one of the longest-running Broadway shows by now. Some of the songs are a bit shopworn, like Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone," from "Carousel" (and every AIDSWalk ever), Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow" and the "Into the Woods" cut "Children Will Listen," which dovetails beautifully into the "Sweeney Todd" hit "Not While I'm Around." But nevertheless, they're familiar favorites. He finishes up with "Old Devil Moon," and "Finishing the Hat" from "Sunday in the Park With George." "Nothing has inspired me more in my life than the energy that is shared in a theater when great songs and great art are on the stage," said Groban. "I wanted this album to pay tribute to those inspirations and memories." He sure has the pipes to bring these classics memorably to life. Pick the album up at Target stores, and get two bonus tracks, "If I Loved You" featuring Audra MacDonald, and "Anthem."
(Reprise Records)

"Kindred" (Passion Pit)

American indietronica band Passion Pit drops their third album, "Kindred" this month. The Cambridge, Massachusetts group consists solely of Michael Angelakos on lead vocals and keyboards, with help during live performances from Chris Hartz on drums, Aaron Folb on bass and synth, and Giuliano Pizzulo and Ray Suen on guitar and synth. The album kicks off with the tune "Lifted Up (1985)," a catchy electropop track that looks back to the good old days. A scratchy record player intro merges into Radiolab-type synthetic sounds in the highly listenable tune, "Whole Life Story." They go for a funk sound in "Where the Sky Hangs," singing about being "caught up in your heartstrings." They sing about wanting a hook to hang your letter on, with an emo vibe in "All I Want," and build up to a big break in the bouncy electropop tune, "Five Foot Ten (I)." "Dancing on the Graves" is a delicate song full of distortions, and it merges seamlessly into "Until We Can't (Let's Go)." They do a 180 and go for an Amy Winehouse-reggae vibe in the excellent song, "Looks Like Rain." They follow with the excessively poppy, "My Brother Taught Me How to Swim" with lyrics about treading water under the skin of the sea. It's a beautiful little ditty. The album finishes with a callback, "Ten Feet Tall (II)," with great reverb.
(Columbia)

"Hi Honey" (Low Cut Connie)

Philly rock outfit Low Cut Connie -- aka Adam Weiner and Dan Finnemore plus new members James Everhart and Will Donnelly -- drop their third album, "Hi Honey," produced by former members of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. The album came together with help from the Tune-Yards, Dean Ween, Greg Cartwright and Vincente Pastore. Through 14 hot cuts, they show their R&B and soul vibe, as they launch into it, singing, "Shake It Little Tina" over bluesy piano cuts. The song morphs into a rocking, shaking ditty a la The Rolling Stones. They get some good harmonies going in the '50s-era tune "Diane (Don't Point That Thing At Me)." They swing like The Platters in "Back in School," with infectious clap tracks and piano licks. "Me N Annie" sounds so much like a slow-moving Grateful Dead cut you almost expect her to 'take the wheel when he's seeing double.' They move to a Billy Joel rock sound in the straight-shooting "Taste So Good" and get lo-fi in "Dickie's Bringing Me Down." The percussion in "Danny's Outta Money" keeps it moving, and the mid-song voicemail interlude from a loan shark about to break his legs is hilarious. They've even included a radio edit, which might come in handy for this catchy tune. They make "Little Queen of New Orleans" into a sizzler about a hottie who wants to be a star. They give the buzzing punk sound to "Dumb Boy" and go back to a greaser sound in "The Royal Screw." They get a great harmony out of "Somewhere Along The Avenue," and finish with "Both My Knees." There's not a miss in the bunch. If you like rock and roll, Low Cut Connie is a great new band to check out! They've already set out on tour, hitting East Coast locales in April, and heading to Canada, Chicago and the Midwest in May and June.
(Contender Records)

"Odessa" (Odessa)

Critically acclaimed California songstress Odessa drops her anxiously awaited self-titled full-length debut this month. Her debut single "I Will Be There" has gotten critical attention, as well as her video, full of wistful melodies and entrancing visuals, as she sings, "If you ever need someone to adore you, I will be there standing by your side." Her tune "My Match" has a country vibe to it, as she sings of being a simple woman finding love with a guitar-playing man. "Run baby run," she sings in the simple but catchy track, "Hummed Low." "Gather Round" has soporific guitars, and "Black Butterfly" has cool, deep bass drum beats. The percussions on this album are understated and excellent. "Love Alone" features an excellent guitar picking intro, and Odessa's fine soprano voice, like Tori Amos but without the high register. "I take 'For Granted' the ones that I love," sings Odessa, promising to give all her love. She asks you to keep her darkest secrets in "Grow" and sings of a painting of a woman and child that hangs on her wall in "Picture of a Woman." The tripping of a snare drum on "Shallow Heart" gives it the feel of a marching to war song. She finishes with "Western," a soaring instrumental. Odessa just completed a tour with The Lone Bellow, and has taken up her residency headlining at Los Angeles' Bootleg Theater.
(Chop Shop/Republic Records)