ALBUM REVIEW: Anthrax 'Worship Music'

Disclaimer: I love Anthrax.

We're not talking casual love, we're talking about the kind of love I had to confess to my wife before we got married - fortunately, she shares my affinity for the greatest hard rock/metal band to come from New York that never recorded an album named Love Gun. I make this confession because I want there to be a frame of reference as I proceed - Persistence of Time is one of my favorite records of all time, I view Joey Belladonna and John Bush as equals, and Charlie Benante and Frank Bello are my holy trinity of rhythm sections (they're so good, they each count as 1 1/2 - Geddy Lee and Neil Peart can't be a trinity because they each count as two)...

Which brings us to Worship Music - the first Anthrax studio album in more than 20 years to feature frontman Joey Belladonna, their first album in more than a decade to not include an appearance by legendary Who frontman Roger Daltrey, and the band's second album in a row to feature the heaviest logo in metal, the twisted 'A is for Anthrax' pentagram. The album title says it all - Worship Music will restore our faith in metal and drop us to our knees as we beg for more. It's a game-changer in a day-and-age where the game has gotten so cluttered, not sucking has become high praise.

But Anthrax are about to change all that.

Worship Music is nothing short of brilliant. It isn't a half-ass collection intended to remind fans of a band's glory years, it is an hour of head-melting metal performed by a band that have not only rediscovered their superpowers, they've taken them to the next level.

At the forefront is Joey Belladonna, who unleashes the most impressive studio performance of his career - his vocals are like a wrecking ball metronome, a pitch-perfect demonstration of what can happen when you decry screaming and put a singer at the helm of a metal band. He pushes the sprawling "Judas Priest" to unprecedented highs, unleashing a vocal beast that matches the might of both "In My World" and John Bush's "Packaged Rebellion." The magic is in his control and restraint - where most metal throats sound like they're always pushing to 11, Belladonna is overpowering while never sounding like he needs to take it past 8. He's so good he doesn't even need to hit 10, but he never leaves us doubting that he can.

That's always been the beauty of Anthrax - they are masters of reeling us in, but never take us too far. They crush us with heavy, but they never sacrifice rhythm, melody or groove. Where most metal bands are about posturing, Anthrax are about the songs, and they bludgeon us with graceful nuances - instead of overwhelming us with noise, they leave us just enough room to thrash along in our mind's own private mosh pit.

Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano are an 18 wheeler of diesel-powered guitar strings, putting the pedal to the metal on opening track "Earth on Hell," tightening the reigns on "The Devil You Know" and laying a riff-driven battle charge on "Fight 'Em 'Till You Can't." "I'm Alive" downshifts, Anthrax unleashing an air-to-surface squadron that blankets the track in a dark veil of gang-powered choruses.

Picking up momentum as they go, "In The End" marks the midway point with an epic battle cry of looming dusk raging into the darker depths of the album's second half. "The Giant" thrashes with an unrelenting fury, Belladonna's vocals again packing a punch that rivals the power of anything in the Anthrax catalog, while "Crawl" is a fire-breathing climb into the stomp of "The Constant" and the blitzkrieg of the closing colossus "Revolution Screams."

And it wouldn't be an Anthrax album without a mind-blowing cover - this time around we're delivered a foundation-rattling run through "New Noise," originally recorded by the Swedish punk and underground favorites Refused. It's a hidden gem that kicks in just past the 11-minute mark of the six-minute "Revolution Screams."

Worship Music is more than just the hard rock/heavy metal album of the year, it is an immediate classic in the Anthrax catalog, its name to be proudly hailed in the same breath as Among the Living and Persistence of Time... Yes, this album is that fucking good.

LINKS
Worship Music on iTunes
Worship Music on Amazon

ALBUM REVIEW: Foster The People 'Torches'

I didn't want to like Foster The People.

In fact, the first time I heard "Pumped Up Kicks" I was a little bit insulted. I thought I was listening to a poor man's MGMT - where was the depth? The soul? The texture? All that said, the song's loopy swagger was infectious and, before long, I wasn't changing the station when it came on in the car. But I still knew I'd hate the band. How could I not? It was paint-by-numbers Coachella with minimal substance and even less style. Chumbawamba for hipsters.

So when Torches arrived in my mailbox with its Where The Wild Things Are album cover and completely uninspired CD booklet (black lyrics on white paper - and people wonder why nobody buys CDs anymore), I was all geared up for a groaner...

Then the electro-fuzz opening of "Helena Beat" kicked the album off, swashing into falsetto vocals talking about life taking you by the hair, pulling you down, and leaving you dead again... Huh? I can relate to that - who can't? I keep listening...

You know those days, when you want to just choose
To not get out of bed, you're lost in your head again
You play the game but you kind of cut
'Cause you're coming down hard and your joints are all stuck

(Just like Chumbawamba, Foster The People get knocked down and they get up again...)

By now my psyche is not only calloused to "Pumped Up Kicks," I actually kind of like the song. It hearkens back to John Mayer's "No Such Thing" - musically light and fruity on the outside, but lyrically meaty in the middle. Mayer's pop ditty had him running through the halls of his high school, screaming at the top of his lungs because he just found out that the real world is a lie he's got to rise above. Foster's tale is one where all the kids with the pumped up kicks better run, faster than the bullet from our cowboy's gun.

That depth I was looking for? Found it - and there's texture, too. "Call It What You Want" and "Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)" bump and bounce like lo-fi Black Eyed Peas (that's a good thing), and "Waste" expands on the colors in the Cut Copy palette. "Houdini" oozes soul, seeping into the 'call me Al' spirit of "Life On The Nickel" and beyond the vibrant, post-modern quirkiness of "Miss You." Foster The People flirt with a disco dynamic on "I Would Do Anything For You," then marry Animal Collective's psychedelic romp with solid gold pop on "Warrant."

And less than 40 minutes after it starts, the voyage is over - the saving grace is, we only have to hit Play to take the journey all over again... and again, and again, and again. Torches is small-town charm amidst big city bustle. It's not reinventing the wheel, it's just greasing it up really well and making it spin a lot smoother. It spins like a kaleidoscope. Vibrant. Inspired. Refreshing.

Torches offers just what the name suggests - an album of bright lights and buoyant beats to guide us through the dark of day.

Like I said, I knew from the moment I heard "Pumped Up Kicks" that I'd love Foster The People!

If Torches isn't my album of the year, I can't wait to hear what is...

Five Albums :: Five MinutesUPROAR TOUR EDITION

THE PROBLEM: I have too many albums that I want to write about, and too little time to actually write about them.
THE SOLUTION: I take five albums that are in my active iPod rotation, and give myself five minutes to write about each.
THE CATCH: I like to digest albums before writing about them - these may not be new releases, but they'll all be the artist's latest.
THE CAVEAT: Since we can't all keep up on everything, I can rest assured that these albums will be new to somebody.

All five of these bands are on this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR tour [click here for a complete itinerary] - maybe I'll see you at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater this Friday (September 17), when the tour stops in Irvine, CA...

AVENGED SEVENFOLD
Nightmare
(Warner Bros. Records)

Haunted by the death of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, Nightmare is the soundtrack to ripping off a bandage and exposing torn, raw flesh. The pain is searing, and Avenged Sevenfold cope by shredding through 11 tracks that couple early-Metallica thrash ("Buried Alive") and prog-rock flash ("Save Me") with Guns N Roses-seasoned sass ("Nightmare"). Cauterized by an epic flair, the album is stellar. "Victim" hums like a modern day "Great Gig in the Sky."

Standout tracks: "Danger Line" & "Fiction"
Official website: www.avengedsevenfold.com

DISTURBED
Asylum
(Warner Bros./Reprise Records)

In 2008, I hailed Indestructible as Disturbed's crowning achievement - it appears I spoke too soon. The band soar to even greater heights on Asylum, delivering a molten rush of metal that translates the genre's legend into a heady, futuristic vision. David Draiman's vocals are distinctive, but never distracting, providing a jarring compliment to the band's crushing sonics. My only complaint? The U2 cover isn't renamed "I Still Haven't Found Wha-ah-ah-aht I'm Looking For."

Standout tracks: "Infection" & "Never Again"
Official website: www.disturbed1.com

Halestorm
Halestorm
(Atlantic Records)

I like Evanescence. I like We Are The Fallen more. I like Lacuna Coil most. Halestorm follow the female-fronted rock formula so well, they could be a cover band. So much so, I feel dirty listening to them - like I'm cheating on Cristina Scabbia. Then a hook grabs me, and Lzzy Hale throws me down with sex-kitten vocals that make me feel even dirtier. I want her to stop, but I can only whimper for more. I feel filthy. I'm powerless against her. If my wife asks, I'll deny all of this.

Standout tracks: "I Get Off" & "Dirty Work"
Official website: www.halestormrocks.com

HELLYEAH
Stampede
(Epic Records)

What started as a supergroup featuring members of Pantera, Mudvayne, Damageplan and Vision of Disorder, has gelled into a cohesive force of southern-fired nature. Hellyeah level a charge of bulging riffs and beefy drum beats under Blacktooth-inspired lyrics on Stampede - if "It's On" and "Pole Rider" don't tell you all you need to know, you're probably not ready to getcha pull. There's also plenty of their heavy pedigree - the sludgy "Order the Sun" does Pantera proud.

Standout tracks: "Cowboy Way" & "Better Man"
Official website: www.hellyeahband.com

STONE SOUR
Audio Secrecy
(Roadrunner Records)

Audio Secrecy exposes one of the best-kept secrets in mainstream rock. The 17-track opus rivals the Foo Fighters in intensity ("Say You'll Haunt Me"), Nickelback in accessibility ("Dying"), and even glances to frontman Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root's other band, Slipknot ("The Bitter End"). "Imperfect" resonates on the light end, "Let's Be Honest" percolates on the heavy end, and "Anna" runs the full-bodied spectrum. A stellar addition to Album of the Year debates.

Standout tracks: "Threadbare" & "Hesitate"
Official website: www.stonesour.com

Five Albums :: Five Minutes

THE PROBLEM: I have too many albums that I want to write about, and too little time to actually write about them.
THE SOLUTION: I take five albums that are in my active iPod rotation, and give myself five minutes to write about each.
THE CATCH: I like to digest albums before writing about them - these may not be new releases, but they'll all be the artist's latest.
THE CAVEAT: Since we can't all keep up on everything, I can rest assured that these albums will be new to somebody...

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
Order of the Black
(E1 Music)

Imagine Ted Nugent on a diet of steroid-spiked sludge shakes. Order of the Black doesn't deviate from the bone-crushing course of it's predecessors, but why should it? It ain't broke, yet Zakk still shreds it, his sinister, sexy, slamming riffs ripping from Iommi-inspired metallic fury to more southern-flavored, melodic glory. "Godspeed Hellbound" melts your face, "War of Heaven" stomps on it, then "Shallow Grave" soothes you in its earthy musk. In a word? Colossal.

Standout tracks: "Overlord" & "Time Waits For No One"
Official website: www.zakkwylde.com

FOZZY
Chasing the Grail
(Riot Entertainment)

For the first time in Fozzy's four-album history, they feel like a band, not a handful of musicians plying their trade behind a professional wrestling superstar. Chris Jericho's development is profound on Chasing the Grail, the warmth and texture of his Ozzy-seasoned vocals not only kicking the powerhouse metal outfit up a notch, but doing it with heart, soul, and a compelling conviction. The walls of Jericho have fallen, and Fozzy emerge as a triumphant force.

Standout tracks: "Under Blackened Skies" & "Wormwood"
Official website: www.fozzyrock.com

PEARL
Little Immaculate White Fox
(R.E.D. Distribution)

There's nothing nasty about the solo debut from this former Motley Crue backup singer. She may be a little woman, but Pearl's got a big voice - like that of a late-'70s, rhythm and blues soaked songbird transported thirty years into the future to show today's screamers what a body full of soul can sound like. Think Alannah Myles with a bionic set of pipes. Pearl is a modern day classic, retro-fit to remind us how rock and roll is supposed to feel.

Standout tracks: "My Heart Isn't In It" & "Nobody"
Official website: www.cheersloverock.com

RATT
Infestation
(Roadrunner/Loud & Proud)

I was playing this album at a party, and someone asked me which old Ratt album he was missing... That's high praise for a band more than a quarter-century removed from their emergence as one of the '80's signature hard rock acts. The hooks are deep, the rhythm section bounces hard, fast and heavy, and Stephen Pearcy's vocals sound timeless. This is one of the best post-'95 albums by any band to emerge from the hallowed Hollywood scene.

Standout tracks: "Best of Me" & "Look Out Below"
Official website: www.therattpack.com

W.A.S.P.
Babylon
(Demolition Records)

From the seismic guitars and rattling drum tremors, to the Blackie Lawless vocal reverb and lyrical depth charges, this is classic W.A.S.P. The album is inspired by the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but you can't miss The Who shining through, even on covers of Deep Purple's "Burn" and Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley's "Promised Land." If you've never given W.A.S.P. a chance, Babylon is the ideal album to make you a believer.

Standout tracks: "Live to Die Another Day" & "Babylon's Burning"
Official website: www.waspnation.com

BRET MICHAELS: 'Custom Built' for a good time (and fun for all ages)

I can't decide whether the above teaser for last night's VH1 Do Something! Awards (I didn't watch them - I was doing something) is funny or wrong...

Can something so funny, be wrong when it's so right?

Either way, you've gotta love Poison frontman Bret Michaels - he gets the joke, and isn't afraid to be part of the punchline.

Michaels' new solo release Custom Built isn't funny, but it's a lot of fun - and I'm not just saying that because Jason Miller gives the Rock of Love theme song a techno remix on the album [listen to song clips here]. Sure, I'm a little creeped out by the duet with Miley Cyrus (remember that she doesn't turn 18 until November when you listen to the lyrics - altogether now, "she's only seventeen..."), but it still works really well. There are more than a few Poison/Bon Jovi-inspired moments, as well as a healthy dose of country fashion that culminates with a star-studded, fiddle-flavored remake of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" featuring Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down, Chris Cagle and Mark Wills. The album's not reinventing the wheel, but when did Bret ever lay claim to such lofty aspirations? He does a commendable job reinventing Sublime's "What I Got" as the album's lead single, and that just about says it all - you'll find everything Bret's got on Custom Built, and the results promise nothin' but a good time... Whether you're young and sexy, old and creepy, or somewhere in between.



Bret Michaels Official Website

Album Review: ACE FREHLEY

ACE FREHLEY
Anomaly
Bronx Born Records

Ace Frehley is an icon, and an original member of one of the greatest rock and roll bands in American history. While he's never been hailed as one of the greatest guitarists to ever finger a pick, whatever he's lacked in mechanics he's always made up for in style. Unfortunately, that signature style isn't enough to carry his fourth solo release, "Anomaly."

The highlight of the album is a cover of Sweet's glam rock classic "Fox on the Run," a well-oiled romp that wraps the spirit of the original in Frehley's trademark swagger. Problem is, the swagger stops there, at the fourth track. "Foxy and Free" starts the album strong, a contemporary crunch saddling Space Ace's effect-laden vocals. It sucks you in, And "Outer Space" keeps you there with a like-minded bullish charge that plays up to Frehley's KISS persona. But "Pain in the Neck" leaves you missing the collaborative efforts of KISS, and "Ghengis Khan" - while featuring some adept guitar play - takes us out of the Sweet cover with a limp that just never recovers, the album proceeding in dire need of polish.

If you flip the melodic charm of "Too Many Faces" with the lyrically-challenged "Pain in the Neck," then keep closer "Fractured Quantum" - the quintessential return to Frehley's '78 solo debut's "Fractured Mirror" - the album would make a formidable five-track EP. But you can't hide from the lumbering ballads "Change the World" and "A Little Below the Angels," the instrumental "Space Bear" just ambles along aimlessly, and even though "Sister" and "It's a Great Life" leave their mark musically, the lyrics are a distraction.

Worth noting is the CD packaging, which folds out into an impressive 3-D prism, a nice touch in this day and age of stale digital music delivery. Overall, Frehley fanatics will find more than enough to get giddy over, and a few of the tracks should make a nice addition to a solo show, but "Anomaly" falls short of the mark as an album. In poker terms? It's like being dealt pocket Aces, then a flop that makes you want to cringe.

RATING: * * *

Ace Frehley Official Website

Ace Frehley MySpace

Album Review: MEGADETH

MEGADETH
Endgame
Roadrunner Records

If Dave Mustaine had Megadeth's musical arsenal set to stun on the 2007 release United Abominations, he toggles the switch to kill mode on Endgame, an album that requires no more than a single listen to merit its stripes in any 'best Megadeth album' debate.

Endgame isn't Dave Mustaine writing songs for radio, and it's not Dave Mustaine trying to keep pace with the commercial success of his previous bandmates. What the album is, is Dave Mustaine demonstrating - yet again - why he's one of the most prolific musical forces in heavy metal. Packed with piss and vinegar aplenty, musicianship that slays, and a melodic underbelly that ties the proceedings together like a tender kiss on the forehead after an uncompromising knee to the groin, the album is a scalding blur of blinding speed, progressive dynamics and tenacious attitude.

In other words, it's Megadeth. The band's twelfth studio release, Endgame would have made a white-hot follow-up to Rust In Peace, the 1990 breakthrough that bridged the gap between Megadeth's speed and thrash roots and the more commercial-savvy metal that marked their march into the new millennium. Opening instrumental "Dialectic Chaos" sears with a blazing intensity reminiscent of "Into the Lungs of Hell" - but with the flames fanned even higher - and a tight epicenter of guitars spiral into the frenzied battle cry of "Tonight We Fight!"

Whether inspired by current events ("44 Minutes," "Bite the Hand"), extreme sports ("1320") or the more personal side of life ("The Hardest Part of Letting Go... Sealed with a Kiss" - the most epic cut on an album full of masterpieces), each of the eleven tracks on Endgame are bound together by incendiary performances, from guitar solos that peel the skin off your arms, to a pulverizing bottom end that blisters your feet. Over it all, Mustaine delivers his vocals like a mercenary on a mission to get in, get out, and deliver an ammunition belt full of retribution along the way.

"Bodies" has roots in the same guitar-driven melodic jungle as Countdown To Extinction, while also showing the maturity of 15 years of personal and musical growth, Mustaine pining, "they have all been good friends, just not good friends of mine, their bodies left behind..." before a progressive breakdown leads into a musical freefall as much about temperance as it is full-on metallic release.

The title track is a scalding testament to the players, the returning rhythm section of bassist James LoMenzo and drummer Shawn Drover being joined by guitarist Chris Broderick, a power metal shredder whose previous bands include Jag Panzer and Nevermore. As much as Mustaine has made an art form out of playing musical band members (he hasn't entered the studio twice with the same band since the release of Cryptic Writings in 1997), he's also managed to bolster Megadeth's signature surge of fire and brimstone with each ensuing change. The trend continues here, with what proves to be the most mind-blowing Megadeth lineup since Mustaine-Friedman-Ellefson-Menza made their four-album run in the '90s.

Considering the magnitude of Megadeth's history, it's impossible to understate the magnitude of the following statement: Endgame is the musical apex of Megadeth's quarter-century catalog.

RATING: * * * * *

Megadeth Official Website

Megadeth MySpace

Album Review: U2

U2
No Line On The Horizon
Interscope Records

U2 may have nothing left to prove musically, but that doesn't stop them from making a sublime statement on No Line On The Horizon. This isn't an album of sonic experimentation or philosophical subjugation, rather a musical step backward and a lyrical glance inward, an album that swells within the warm rattle and hum of its own jetstream.

No Line On The Horizon works because U2 don't cloud their vision with the clutter of being visionary. Instead of charting new territory, they find new crevices and nuances in territories that they've previously explored - And everything fits just right.

Where All That You Can't Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were the products of tight and precise production, the new release opens the reigns and lets the wind get caught in the sails. The album is more atmospheric and ambient than it is adventurous and post-adolescent, and that is where its majesty lies, the overpowering machismo of radio anthems replaced by the humble gestures of rolling soundscapes and lyrics in search of sanctity and solace. It is U2 understanding where they've been, and U2 letting that clarity help dictate their course forward.

The title track opens the album with a stumbling air of confusion, "Magnificent" following with a grand marriage of gentle dance rhythms and uplifting orchestrations, Bono's breathy vocals finding hope and promise in pain and hurt. A hypnotic trance encompasses "Moment of Surrender," "Unknown Caller" stands tall while swaying with a sense of insecurity, and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is a more light-hearted blend of bouncing drums and galloping prose.

The second half of the album breaks away with the guitar-driven crunch and grind of lead single "Get On Your Boots" and the similarly big-sounding "Stand Up Comedy," a rambunctious, slow-rolling rocker with a flare for the dramatic. "Fez - Being Born" is a bit long to unravel, a five-minute kaleidoscope that plays like a misplaced interlude to the pensive vocals and stripped-down delivery of "White as Snow," the exhilarating redemption call of "Breath," and the sedated tones and muted calm of album closer "Cedars of Lebanon."

Instead of overwhelming the senses on No Line On The Horizon, U2 succumb to them, basking in a subtle glow of bewilderment while leaving enough blank space for a spring of hope to trickle throughout. This isn't the product of aging dinosaurs who still haven't found what they're looking for, it is a sort of homecoming by a band who have rediscovered their unforgettable fire.

RATING: * * * *

U2 MySpace

U2 Official Website

ARCHIVE: Album Review Links

Alphabetized list of links to select album reviews archived online:

3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down (2008)

Barry Manilow Greatest Songs of the Sixties (2006)

Black Light Burns Cruel Melody (2007)

Disturbed Indestructible (2008)

Disturbed The Sickness (2000)

Gavin Rossdale Wanderlust (2008)

Goldfrapp Seventh Tree (2008)

Goon Moon Licker's Last Leg (2007)

Gwen Stefani The Sweet Escape (2006)

Kittie Funeral for Yesterday (2007)

Megadeth United Abominations (2007)

Mudcrutch Mudcrutch (2008)

Neil Diamond Home Before Dark (2008)

Queens of the Stone Age Era Vulgaris (2007)

Taylor Hicks Taylor Hicks (2006)

The B-52s Funplex (2008)

The Exies A Modern Way of Living with the Truth (2007)

The Offspring Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008)

Type O Negative Dead Again (2007)

Whitesnake Good to be Bad (2008)

Yusuf Islam An Other Cup (2006)

Album Review: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Working On A Dream
Columbia

Working On A Dream is the perfect album at the perfect time for Bruce Springsteen.

There's been more written of the Boss than there has been of Ben Roethlisberger in the past week, no doubt because most of the anticipated 150 million people who will watch Sunday's Super Bowl care more about the pageantry than they do the game, and of the people that do care about the game, few could probably spell the Steeler quarterback's last name. To Springsteen's credit, he's the perfect star to sell the halftime show, and the NFL couldn't have asked for a better match-up to bookend their marquee musical performance: God loving, clean cut, all-American boy Kurt Warner, complete with his "you can get a dog if we win the Super Bowl" promise to his daughters, leading his champion of western expansion Arizona Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the champions of blue-collar America, the team that brought the steel curtain to the steel city, and a team bred on the ideals of a gritty work ethic and staunch determination.

Just as remarkable is how well the two teams represent Working On A Dream, an album that expertly blurs the lines between the heartland core of the E Street Band's classic rock foundation, and the folk aesthetic of Springsteen's more Americana and activist-minded recent body of work. It's in that spirit of heading west in search of the American dream, but never forgetting the foundation and deeply-embedded roots that give us the strength to leave our home, that the new album shines so bright. And it doesn't hurt that when Springsteen steps into the biggest spotlight of his career, he'll be touting an album that has more commercial appeal than anything he's released since Born In The U.S.A. a quarter-century ago.

The beauty is, the album is Bruce Springsteen through-and-through. Not once in the 13-track offering do the proceedings feel forced, phony, or even the slightest bit strained for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer only six months removed from his 60th birthday.

"Outlaw Pete" opens with a sprawling tribute to the old west, the staunch bravado of Springsteen's man in black vocals driving the stripped-down orchestration of the eight-minute track. "My Lucky Day" follows like a surging stampede, driving guitars, flailing piano, wailing saxophone and all, and the title track meets somewhere between the two, a quintessential mid-tempo Springsteen jaunt as proud and hopeful as it is endearing and resolute. There's a muddy blues hue to the swampy "Good Eye," a backwoods finger-pickin' pluck to the more Pete Seeger-inspired "Tomorrow Never Knows," and the infectious "Life Itself" rumbles with a slow and steady tumble.

"Kingdom of Days" and "Surprise Surprise" tread dangerously close to the sing-song danger zone where folk flirts with camp, but Springsteen seems to know just how far to creep before getting stuck in the tacky sap. Whether he's telling a simple story of love and acceptance in "Queen of the Supermarket" or painting a more stark, pained picture of self-doubt in the album's closing track "The Wrestler" (the Golden Globe-winning title track from the movie of the same name), the lyrics do more than pine for the more wistful days of old, offering a reason to stand tall in troubled times and the hope to find glory in the days that come.

Woody Guthrie. Bob Dylan. Johnny Cash. You hear a bit of them all throughout Working On A Dream. But most of all you hear Bruce Springsteen, a man who's come a long way since releasing Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. some 36 years ago, and a man who's singing like he's got a long way left to go.

Working On A Dream is the soundtrack of a voyage well-worth taking.

RATING: * * * *

Bruce Springsteen MySpace

Bruce Springsteen Official Website

Album Review: ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Domino

Don't try and make sense of Animal Collective's ninth studio album, just dim the lights, lie down, and let it all soak in. Let the salty spray of their psychedelic splash make your senses tingle like ecstasy for the ears, their sound swirling from the speakers like pixie dust. The avant-guard art-rock trio - who go by Avey Tare, Geologist and Panda Bear - combine equal parts ambient trance, Beatles pop and Beach Boys melodies on Merriweather Post Pavilion, creating an atmosphere of spastic calm and disarming ease. It's the anti-soundtrack to today's troubled times, a veritable joyride of musical experimentation and sensual sonic manipulations.

"My Girls" unfolds a lush tapestry of tinkering bells, claps, booms and chants, eliciting a campfire of dancing blue flames that pulses as it plays out like a peace-nick tribal ceremony. "Summertime Clothes" swings like a free-wheeling revival of John, Paul, George and Ringo, big vocals embraced by pronounced musical arcs, and "Bluish" is a tender swoon with a soulful swagger. "Lion In A Coma" whips up a bouncing blend of Paul Simon world beats circa "You Can Call Me Al" and the Police in all their minimalistic, body-shaking glory.

For those who like their music off the beaten path, Merriweather Post Pavilion is more than just Album of the Year material - it's the stuff obsessions are made of.

RATING: * * * * 1/2

Animal Collective MySpace

Animal Collective Official Website