{blackbabes} Listen Up: Elle Varner, Redd Kross, more

Elle Varner, Perfectly Imperfect***R&B

Varner's whiskey-kissed vocals convey a mix of sensuality, urgency and ease that make her credible whether she's playing a girl gone wild or addressing post-adolescent insecurity, as on the bouncy single So Fly. Only a few of the tracks on this much-touted debut let her soar, but there's no denying that this R&B upstart knows her way around a groove. — Elysa Gardner

>>Download:Sound Proof Room, Welcome Home

Redd Kross, Researching the Blues

*** ROCK

The California band's first album in 15 years reunites the lineup that delivered 1987's excellent Neurotica, including founding members Jeff and Steve McDonald. While threaded with bluesy tones, their music plunders the '60s and not the seminal age of the title, resulting in 10 rock and power-pop tunes that explode with guitar crunch, arena-ready choruses and sticky melodies. — Edna Gundersen

>>Download: Choose to Play, Winter Blues

Sixpence None the Richer, Lost in Transition

*** POP

Nineties nostalgia is in full swing with the Kiss Me group's first new album in a decade. The songs delve deeper than the nascent romance of its best-known hit, but the group's cozy chamber-pop hasn't lost its charm. Lost in Transition makes it easy to love Sixpence back. — Brian Mansfield

>>Download:Radio, My Dear Machine, Safety Line

Colt Ford, Declaration of Independence

*** COUNTRY RAP

Purists of country and rap may not cotton to Ford's fusion of the genres, but for kids growing on both, he's inevitable. Ford isn't above cornpone humor ("Do you know Hugh? … Hugh Damn Right."), and he aligns politically with Hank Williams Jr. But between the high-powered guests and his dead-on takes of small-town life, this album will resonate long after the novelty wears off. — Mansfield

>>Download:Back, Answer to No One, Drivin' Around Song

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