Ricky Martin, Musica + Alma + Sexo

Ricky Martin’s totally shocking, world-rocking confession – that he’s (omigawd!) gay – hasn’t affected his shameless penchant for cheesy pop. Listen to the tracks on his first album since coming out, and you won’t hear sob stories (or much, if you don’t understand Spanish, which 11 of the 13 songs are in). In fact, you’ll hear quite the opposite – a self-proclaimed "fortunate homosexual." Much of the Puerto Rican pop star’s ninth disc, from the trendy boom-boom of "No Te Miento" to the cool Lady Gaga-goes-Latin "Más," serves as a soundtrack for shaking his bon-bon. Songs are mostly outfitted in house beats, but he’s not just "Livin’ La Vida Loca." He’s living the liberated life – so, with the help of producer Desmond Child, he’s throwing a dance party and singing about overcoming oppression. On the ballad "Basta Ya," he vows that "I’ll be true to myself." Very few slowies make their way onto the album – probably for the best, considering the ones that do aren’t memorable. The exception is the lighthearted, aw-shucks song "Lo Mejor De Mi Vida Eres Tú"; its English companion sung with Joss Stone, though, is like a foot too big for its shoe. The only other non-Spanish song, "Shine," can’t win either with its Erasure-meets-Disney design, but Martin’s falsetto voice is worth mentioning; he sounds as sweet, tender and cuddly as ever. Told you: La vida not-so-loca.

Grade: C+

Boy George, Ordinary Alien

People see Boy George differently these days (heck, Boy George probably sees people differently these days), but drugs and jail couldn’t stop the once-androgynous star’s first disc in 10 years. Actually, they didn’t have to, since not much is new here. To the casual listener, maybe; but hardcore fans know that Ordinary Alien is basically a collection – despite the "return of Boy George" plug boosting that it’s his first "artist album" in a decade – of 16 tracks gleaned from material released as singles and on YouTube, some dusted off and recycled and remixed. Sneaky, sneaky. But that doesn’t change how fine some of them are, like the resonating "Brand New" and "Amazing Grace," even if so many seem ripped from the wrong decade. The latter, for instance, could be a club hit in 1995 with its dated circuit gallop. It’s still uplifting, like a lot of the album, but its behind-the-times faltering is evident is songs like "Yes We Can," released in ’08 to celebrate Obama’s victory. It’s galvanizing and powerful – several of these songs are – but that doesn’t mean it’s any good. For instance, changing "Go Your Own Way" from reggae, which is how Boy George first released the Fleetwood Mac original, into a dance song with his music-making partner of 15 years, Kinky Roland, sounds promising. Except it’s not; it’s flat-out generic. Really, it comes down to this: Ordinary Alien needs less ordinary and more alien.

Grade: C

Also Out

Casey Spooner, Adult Contemporary

Pop music that’s hipster-friendly is how the straying member of electroclash duo Fischerspooner sells his solo CD. It's all chill, unpretentious pleasantness, with songs about being a "Spanish Teenager" (what do you know, he even sings like a 15-year-old) that pull off ’60s psychedelia (the first single, featuring Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears) and chic party music like "RSVP." "Cinnamon Toast," with its vague entendres, is like a sexier Peter Gabriel. Adult Contemporary: Simply irresistible? Almost.

Over the Rhine, The Long Surrender

With the slow release of Karin Bergquist’s lovely voice, there’s no reason this husband-and-wife twosome shouldn’t be a bigger deal. But the latest of many criminally overlooked LPs oughta change that. There’s genre-merging in the minimalist production, there’s emotional nakedness, and there’s Lucinda Williams on "Undamned." "Only God Can Save Us Now" mixes comedy and tragedy to moving effect, but even when you least expect it – like on the straightforward "Oh Yeah, By the Way" – Over the Rhine hits you hard in the heart.

Iron and Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean

Hear those gasps? They’re reacting to indie-folk darling Iron and Wine – Sam Beam, the man behind the pseudonym – blasting their lo-fi canon into electro territory. "Walking Far From Home," moving from muddy to pristine, is the obvious standout. But listen, music snobs, just because Beam is coloring outside the lines, widening his scope with a bigger pool of influences (from jazz to doo-wop), doesn’t mean he’s shaving the beard, too. This is still very much an Iron and Wine record – just refined. And radical. And cooler.