Listen: Ariana Grande is no angel, but she has supernatural ambition

Plus new music from Jeff Lynne's ELO, Vetiver, a reissue from R.E.M. and more

Ariana Grande onstage earlier this year during her Sweetener Tour.Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

The Chronicle’s guide to the best new music.

NEW ALBUMS

“Charlie’s Angels (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Republic)

Even with pop superstarsAriana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey on the track, “Don’t Call Me Angel,” the lead single from the soundtrack to the latest “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, is no “Independent Women, Pt. 1.”

But Grande certainly has Beyoncé-sized ambition. The soundtrack serves as a platform for the “Thank U, Next” singer as curator, executive producer and master collaborator, as she glides through high-caliber team-ups with the likes of Normani, Nicki Minaj and Chaka Khan.

香根草,“高”(妈妈鸟记录有限公司)

“Up on High,” the latest album by the long-running Bay Area folk-rock bandVetiver, was written during a period whenfrontman Andy Cabic was displaced from his San Francisco home — a victim of the city’s purge of anyone with a creative inkling in favor of those with big cryptocurrency accounts — and found himself landing in a suburban neighborhood in Richmond.

The music is by necessity minimal, written on acoustic guitar and mostly recorded live as Cabic finds his footing in what’s most familiar: jangly guitars, weightless melodies and images of palm trees swaying. “Nothing lasts / We will,” he sings on “All We Could Want.”

Jeff Lynne’s ELO, “From Out of Nowhere” (Columbia)

Now thatJeff Lynnehas once again fired up his Electric Light Orchestra, he’s on a roll. The follow-up to 2015’s “Alone in the Universe,” this track once again feels like it could have been made in the group’s 1970s heyday, when songs like “Evil Woman,” “Turn to Stone” and “Xanadu” ruled FM radio. It’s all here: the symphonic strings, cascading harmonies and cosmic sweep. The cumulative effect is that it will leave you wishing you still had your roller skates.

REISSUES

Bob Dylan, “Travelin’ Thru, 1967-1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15” (Columbia / Legacy)

Bob Dylan, Woodstock, NY, 1968Photo: Elliott Landy / Scott Nichols Gallery

This three-disc set finds Bob Dylan making his way back into the spotlight following his 1966 motorcycle accident. Made up of outtakes from his recording sessions for “John Wesley Harding,” “Nashville Skyline” and “SelfPortrait,” it quickly becomes apparent that these were lean years, and the outtakes aren’t as rewarding as some of the others in this series. But there’s a big chunk of material he recorded with Johnny Cash, and that right there is everything you need.

R.E.M., “Monster (25th Anniversary Edition)” (Concord)

“Monster” is not the most belovedR.E.M.专辑。当它在1994年被释放时,它发现the band stripping away all the things that defined its sound — particularly the jangle and reverie — in favor of a more straightforward glam rock sound, while frontman Michael Stipe’s poetic murmurs turned disarmingly confessional (“Do you give good head?/Am I good in bed?/I don’t know/I guess so,” he sings on “I Don’t Sleep, I Dream”).

This five-disc reissue features the original album, a remastered version, unreleased demos and a 1995 live set recorded in Chicago, all in an effort to put a fresh spin on terminally misunderstood songs like “Strange Currencies” and “Bang and Blame.”

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Mnnqns,“Fall Down”

On “Fall Down,” this unfortunately named French band conjures up the Strokes’ razor-sharp riffing with the Rapture’s dance floor lure, coming up with a neat three-minute adrenaline rush that will leave you feeling nostalgic for the past while fully prepared to kick the future square between the legs.

  • Aidin Vaziri
    Aidin VaziriAidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com