Since the Stone Roses imploded in the early ’90s, Ian Brown has increasingly filled the role of the wandering mystic. “Solarized,” continues this trend — the earthy album is built on warm synths, gently humming guitars and Brown’s soothingly hypnotic voice.
But the record is deceptively mellow. A closer listen reveals the singer’s most politically charged release to date: “Upside Down” levels that “7 percent own 84 percent of everything on Earth” and “One Way Ticket To Paradise” attacks “warmongers” over an East-meets-West fusion of East Asian rhythms and Zeppelin riffage. “Solarized” also boasts several noteworthy guests — with decidedly different results. Oasis’ Noel Gallagher shrugs his way through “Keep What Ya Got,” while Groove Armada’s Tim Hutton cocoons “Time Is My Everything” in punch-drunk blasts of mariachi horn that pull Brown’s more ethereal leanings back into orbit.
