Seemingly timeless songstress Patti Smith’s 11th studio album, her first original material since 2004, is a mixed bag. “Banga,” (June 5, Columbia Records) is sometimes contemplative, with soft melodies; sometimes hard-driving, with lyrics chanted to enforce Smith’s message. Spoken word meditations on life and dreams bridge the two extremes

The topics Smith focuses on here are varied themselves. The opening track is a vivid point-of-view of voyager Amerigo Vespucci, who explains the reasons for his 1497 trip to the Americas (“Amerigo”). There is a wailing lament for the people of Japan in the wake of the country’s devastating earthquake (“Fuji-san”).

The piano-driven ballad “This is the Girl” is an elegy for Amy Winehouse; whom Smith did not know but identified with. Smith has said “Constantine’s Dream,” a meandering 10 minutes long, asks the questions the importance of artists and the work they create. “Nine,” appropriately the ninth track, was written as a birthday song for friend Johnny Depp. Religious imagery is prevalent throughout the album, as Smith sings of the Sabbath, baptismal fonts, the salvation of souls, and the like.

The 65-year-old Smith recorded and produced the record with her son, Jackson, daughter, Jesse, longtime collaborator Lenny Kaye and others. First single, “April Fool,” is the best song of the bunch and is already available.

Grade: B-

Listen: “April Fool,” “Amerigo.”