** stars out of four
New music by country superstar Keith Urban is out today, his 9th album called "Graffiti U".I really like Urban, his songwriting, his energy in concert, his under-rated guitar work, his voice, which can carry a sentimental ballad or an upbeat rock song. But on Graffiti U he expands way far from just country- and not always in a good way.
I give him credit for not resting on his laurels and exploring musically. Ripcord was a well-balanced album, country, rock and starting to ease into techno and rap. A little of the new stuff was cool, as long as Urban gives us the music which made him a star. Unfortunately on the new record there hardly is any country to speak of.
The best song, in my opinion, is the relentless ballad "Parallel Line". The new single, "Coming home" leads off the album. From there it's a collection of mostly upbeat tunes that too often crosses-over into 80's-like dance music.
"Female" is his sometimes controversial take on current conditions in society. "Texas Time' is a good, old-fashioned rock n' roll song, and I wished more of the album sounded as simple, which all the glitz.I'm sure there will be a bunch of singles off the record, including the summertime anthem "Drop Top."
Kudos to Keith Urban for putting out new music in the middle of his rise to fame. Fresh off Ripcord, he is touring the world this summer with Graffiti U ( I'm seeing him in August in Camden). Hopefully on his next effort he scales it back a notch and returns to his roots For now, Graffiti U is a good album with plenty of reasons to move. But Urban's wheelhouse is country/pop songs, and as uncomfortable at times he sounds doing the new stuff on the record, that's how uneasy I felt. But when he goes back to what got him to where he is, his music feels familiar and welcome.
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