A Heap of Sincerity Under the Syrup

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ENRIQUE IGLESIAS

“Quizas”

Universal Latino

The music favored by Enrique Iglesias on million-selling album after million-selling album is syrupy and decadent, melodramatic and insubstantial.

Then why is it so compelling?

Maybe it’s an almost intangible quality to Iglesias’ singing that entices you to set aside critical judgment and activate your soap-opera-loving sentimental side. This obsessively polished collection of Spanish-language songs (due in stores Tuesday after two albums in English) doesn’t sound very different from the dozens of pop albums that routinely dominate the charts. But Iglesias’ sincerity is impossible to ignore.

The young singer projects the image of a sophisticated crooner, but his lyrics focus mostly on images of women as larger-than-life objects of adoration. On the somber “Marta,” the effect of a woman’s departure after a night of pleasure is simply devastating, with the song’s hapless protagonist remembering “her mouth, still tasting as sweet as honey.”

The album’s emotional high point is its melancholy title track. An open letter to his father, Julio Iglesias (the two men reportedly haven’t spoken to each other in years), it finds the singer talking about the feelings of loneliness that permeate his otherwise successful existence and reflecting on the transitory nature of life. Iglesias has never so sounded so vulnerable, and his willingness to bare his soul adds an extra level of poignancy and sincerity to his music. The singer headlines Staples Center on Oct. 22.

Ernesto Lechner

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KIM RICHEY

“Rise”

Lost Highway

The singer-songwriter is usually classified as a country artist, but her work has been moving in a more general pop direction. Produced by Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne), her fourth album (in stores Tuesday) employs wheezy, new-wave keyboards along with banjos and acoustic guitars. More to the point, perhaps, different songs evoke such emotionally insightful artists as Aimee Mann and Tom Petty.

Despite Richey’s widely varied tunes--including the muted, bluesy “Girl in a Car,” the torchy Latin-flavored “Without You” and the Band-esque “Cowards in a Brave New World”--the collection’s restrained production creates a unifying sense of solitary reflection. Her assessments feel more like portraits painted from memory than like snapshots of moments. This approach, coupled with her straightforward vocals, keeps the many tales of partings, searching and moving on from being histrionic or despairing.

Despite her inventiveness, however, “Rise” gets slightly bogged down when her lift-yourself-up message is repeated in “No Judges,” “This Love” and “Good Day Here.” Still, much more often Richey’s intimate simplicity makes for compelling listening. She plays the Troubadour on Oct. 7.

Natalie Nichols

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*** 1/2

MARK KNOPFLER

“The Ragpicker’s Dream”

Warner Bros.

The British guitar whiz and composer has had a soft spot for the working stiff back to his days with Dire Straits, whether that work happened to be hefting major appliances (“Money for Nothing”) or musical riffs (“The Sultans of Swing”). On his third solo album (due Tuesday), he doffs his cap to shoe salesmen (the delightfully Roger Miller-esque “Quality Shoe”), farmers (“Hill Farmer’s Blues”) and carpenters (“Why Aye Man”) as well.

As on his previous solo album, “Sailing to Philadelphia,” he’s also got a lot to say about the tug between wanderlust and the need for roots. These songs are couched in mostly acoustic settings that draw as much from Celtic folk as from American blues and country sources, making for an often haunting and illuminating journey that emerges through vignettes with a cinematic richness.

When he sings “You better love your daddy while you can” in “Daddy’s Gone to Knoxville,” simultaneously evoking Hank Williams and Chet Atkins, the implication of impending separation is all the more heartbreaking for its simplicity.

In the past, Knopfler has sometimes pushed too hard for big theme statements to communicate his views on life; this time he wisely lets his lyrics set a scene, allowing his music to deliver more of the emotional punch.

Randy Lewis

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**

LeANN RIMES

“Twisted Angel”

Curb

The former country wunderkind was so put off by last year’s “I Need You” album, a hodgepodge of overproduced teen-pop drivel, that she disavowed it. She warned it had been assembled without her cooperation by her estranged father-producer and her label, both of whom she was suing at the time.

It was a bold move for a musician who was still a teen, striking a blow for artistic integrity that paved the way for this album (in stores Tuesday), one she says at last fully reflects her vision, one she co-produced and for which she also co-wrote four songs. The result? A hodgepodge of overproduced young-adult pop drivel.

The big difference is several songs in which she revels in the garden of earthly delights. Britney Spears may profess that she’s not yet a woman, but Rimes, in setting her sights on the same audience, makes sure listeners understand that she loves s-e-x as much as Janet Jackson.

She commands a set of pipes as strong or stronger than any of her peers, but she’s squandering them on songs that say little beyond sex is great, love is everything and, gee, it’s tough being famous. R.L.

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RILO KILEY

“The Execution of All Things”

Saddle Creek

From the moment Jenny Lewis’ barely sung vocals emerge on the wintry opener, this Los Angeles quartet’s sophomore album (due Tuesday) offers a lovely bouquet of idiosyncrasies. What to make of punky shout-outs in a ballad? Of splashes of twang segueing into crashes and crunch? Of a lilting vocalist who drops the F-bomb in a lullaby? Nice arrangement.

Stripped down, every tune here drips with the melodiousness of a folk song or pop ballad. Lewis’ keyboards, along with guitars and vocals from co-founder Blake Sennett, create a melange that frames snippets occasionally tingling with the poignancy of a poetry reading. The collection’s loose, countrified feel allows Rilo Kiley to get away with a lot, including sudden shifts in volume, some throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks lyrics, a smattering of beeps and pings, horns and strings.

But it’s easy to hear what attracted the folks at Omaha’s Saddle Creek--which, thanks to artists such as Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos and the Faint, ranks as the most scenic cul-de-sac in indie rock. “Execution” makes you want to hum. Rilo Kiley plays the Echo on Tuesday with Elliott Smith.

Kevin Bronson

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In Brief

** 1/2 Thievery Corporation, “The Richest Man in Babylon,” ESL. Though a favorite in the dance world, the Washington, D.C.-based duo of Eric Hilton and Rob Garza has more in common with seminal goth act Dead Can Dance than with its electronic peers. Like DCD, Thievery Corporation holds a strong fascination with Indian and Middle Eastern music (as well as the songs of Brazil). On “Babylon” (due Tuesday), those world sounds are dipped in languid dance beats that make for an alluring late-night journey.

Steve Baltin

*

** 1/2 Disturbing Tha Peace, “Golden Grain,” Def Jam South. Ludacris’ unyielding energy, hilariously clever lyrics and block-rocking beats have made the Atlanta rapper one of the genre’s most exciting artists. Too bad the members of his Disturbing Tha Peace posse, here on their debut album, can’t always keep up. Ludacris shines on his few appearances, while Shawnna, Lil’ Fate, Tity Boy and I-20 alternate between solid and subpar street raps.

Soren Baker

*

** Scapegoat Wax, “SWAX,” Hollywood. The single “Lost Cause” was a hit at radio, but that perfect piece of candy guitar pop about a kid lost in his headphones might describe lead goat Marty James: too hip to his own trip. Buried by throwaway hip-hop are cool soul movers “Crawlin’ ” and “Freeway,” Curtis Mayfied-through-Commodores mid-tempo jams, but they’re screaming “I’m cool!” just a little too loud.

Dean Kuipers

*

** 1/2 Kenny G, “Paradise,” Arista. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Kenny G was a fair jazz saxophonist. But he’d be the first to say that what he plays on “Paradise,” as on his mega-hits, is instrumental pop, not jazz. Viewed from that perspective, he’s got another winner on his hands, overflowing with foot-tapping rhythms, catchy hooks and the atmospheric moods suggested by titles such as “Malibu Dreams,” “Ocean Breeze” and “Falling in the Moonlight,” as well as an obligatory vocal number--”One More Time,” intimately sung by Chante Moore.

Don Heckman

*

** 1/2 Myracle Brah, “Bleeder,” Rainbow Quartz/Not Lame. Andy Bopp’s quixotic quest for beatlehood has always seemed as if it were mapped out by the Replacements. The Baltimorean’s fourth album since the demise of his Interscope band Lovenut accelerates and decelerates like a car chase, sideswiping some classic pop influences while jolting its audience with masterfully executed U-turns and thrilling near-misses. On numbers such as the exuberant “Independence Day,” Bopp recalls “March”-era Michael Penn, and the way he’s driving, that feels like the open road.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.

K.B.