CD reviews

Trombone Shorty, "Backatown" (Verve)

This New Orleans star, 23, is so ready for his close-up. "Backatown," with its blend of tight funk, power-chord rock and slinky R&B, presents him as an unstoppable force. The CD is more polished and less thrilling than Shorty's live shows, but it's firm in its purpose and has swagger to spare. He exudes a gutsy urgency on trombone and a blaring poise on trumpet, and his band operates with muscular efficiency.

Shorty isn't terrible as a singer, especially with help in the background from Marc Broussard, Lenny Kravitz and Allen Toussaint. The lyrics are disposable, but the centerpiece here is his riff-based arrangements, adapted from brass band protocols and often featuring blasts of distorted guitar.

Shorty performs July 8 at the Minnesota Zoo.

NATE CHINEN, NEW YORK TIMES

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, "Here Lies Love" (Nonesuch)

It's important to know that this whirlwind song cycle, starring the likes of Steve Earle and Santigold, started as a musical theater piece. That's how Byrne conceived of this schmaltzy disco splash dedicated to Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos' wild life and love of shoes. Byrne and co-composer Fatboy Slim left the evil politics of martial law implied, fashioned Marcos' sappy words into garish show-tune lyrics and then got 20-plus vocalists to tell her tale. There are sprightly grooves and curious tales of courtship ("Eleven Days," sung by Cyndi Lauper) and Manhattan society ("Dancing Together," with Sharon Jones) that allow its vocalists dramatic breadth even when the music is fluffy. There are wrenching and darkly comic songs featuring Natalie Merchant and the B-52s' Kate Pierson. With Byrne's patented tropical lilt and Fatboy's beats added to the music's snazzy patina, the whole affair comes across as equal parts Latin telenovela and "Evita."