Many of the tracks on ‘Secondhand Rapture,’ the debut album by MS MR, have already trickled out in a series of hotly-anticipated singles, music videos and on the overplayed trailer for season 3 of HBO’s Games of Thrones (that song is titled “Bones”). So getting twelve big ones in long-player format feels almost like a greatest hits package. The album’s opener, “Hurricane,” is still MS MR’s strongest number. Its forceful soul vocal laments the moment when dreamers have to become, um, well, working stiffs and go make a real living – hopefully not too soon! “Dark Doo Wop” (Chet Faker remix streaming below) is one of Secondhand’s best surprises. A finger-poppin’ ballad here dares to reinvent the girl-group genre by using a dramatic bolero beat to build up the apocalyptically romantic chorus: “This world is gonna burn.” By the time of the album’s closer, “This Isn’t Control,” an illusionless gloom hangs over the entire affair with all the heaviness of deeply-felt experience. No over-singing or long-winded vocal runs here. Just evenhanded soul vocals that also manage to sound inspired. See the band live in NYC at Governors Ball on June 8. – Brian Chidester
