POP/ROCK

PJ Harvey, "Hope Six Demolition Project" (Island)

Polly Jean Harvey's early albums had an autobiographical feel, the sound of a young woman slamming down doors to take on patriarchy, stake out her personal take on feminism and express a raging disapproval of how a young woman is expected to act, think and feel.

Lately, her albums have expanded outward into storytelling, history, the personal as political. Her previous album, "Let England Shake," explored the psychic carnage that World War I imprinted on her homeland. This new album is a type of musical documentary or new journalism based on her firsthand reports from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C. It brims with searing images and vivid vignettes, a work that belongs in the discussion with Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly" or D'Angelo's "Black Messiah" as one of the most powerful protest albums of recent years.

On "Hope Six," she works with her usual co-conspirators, producers Flood and John Parish, on an array of chamber-pop arrangements with lots of skronky saxophone.

The songs zero in on how the lower half of the 99 percent lives and juxtapose human suffering with gray monuments to bureaucratic power and wealth. Apocalyptic visions abound.

"The Community of Hope" employs an almost cheery chord progression to represent the sound of politicians waving off the troubles of a beleaguered, drug-riddled ward in Washington. But these are songs of resistance as much as they are harrowing pieces of musical reportage. When the singer gazes upon the polluted "River Anacostia," she invokes the old spiritual "Wade in the Water" that guided escaped slaves and was later repurposed for civil rights marches. The massed chorus of "Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln" evokes a union rally.

K. Michelle, “More Issues Than Vogue”

It all builds masterfully to a powerful, closing one-two punch. "The Wheel," inspired by a stark circus ride in Kosovo, suggests a cycle of despair that just keeps recurring. And then Harvey puts herself in the center of the tragedy on the finale, "Dollar Dollar." She is no longer just an observer but a participant. A boy scratches at her car window begging for a handout, but the car drives off before the passenger can respond. She's haunted by the image, unable to look through or past the boy's visage as the music fades to black.

Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

R&B/Hip-hop

K. Michelle, "More Issues Than Vogue" (Atlantic )

Michelle's whole life is a performance. The R. Kelly mentee has been a regular cast member on "Love & Hip Hop," both the New York and Atlanta iterations. On her third LP, Kimberly Michelle Pate can't hide behind reality TV — and the result is impressive. This record is tongue-in-cheek fun. Her trailer-park-theme video for the outstanding lead track, "Mindful" (produced by T-Pain), is a blast.

"Got Em Like" features production from Andre 3000 and Big Boi. My favorite, "Rich," features Yo Gotti and Trina and slays with lines like "I got rich-people problems." Jason Derulo's here, too, duetting on the flirty "Make the Bed." The singles "Not a Little Bit" and "Ain't You" are slow, delicate numbers that shine a light on her qualified pipes but don't capture the irreverence laced throughout this record.

bill chenevert, Philadelphia Inquirer

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