Deftones, 'Saturday Night Wrist' (Maverick)
Metal vets edge away from mookish headbanging.
By Alyssa Rashbaum 11.06.06 4:00 AM
Deftones' fifth studio album continues their dark, visceral journey -- haunting soundscapes full of ominously chiming guitars, crashing percussion, and frontman Chino Moreno's alternately melodic and guttural singing. But the band also takes some risks -- emphasizing artiness over thundering hardness (unlike 2003's often-deadening self-titled effort).
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The Cardigans, 'Super Extra Gravity' (Nettwerk)
Canny pop internationalists make a mess of things.
By James Hunter 10.31.06 4:00 AM
Since the early '90s, the music of this Swedish band has been variously tight, concise, loose, and floppy; once they even recorded with Tom Jones. Here, they go for stripped-down indie-toned guitar, rather than glistening sonic sheen.
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Sparta, 'Threes' (Hollywood)
Even after the catharsis, they still crank up the guitars.
By Alyssa Rashbaum 10.30.06 4:00 AM
Ever since their 2002 debut, these El Paso rockers have been a reliably cathartic and emotionally charged presence. Those old traits remain, but Sparta have evolved, with a melodic approach and a postdepression, fist-pumping attitude. On the single "Taking Back Control," singer/guitarist Jim Ward doesn't simply lament the world's ills, but issues an anti-Bush call to arms.
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Jet, 'Shine On' (Atlantic)
Savvy mimics return with more songs you've heard before.
By Andrew Beaujon 10.27.06 3:00 AM
The pitiless logic of the music biz goes something like this: Your first album is the one you put all the work into, and if it becomes a hit, you spend the next two years touring, so your next one is almost bound to suck or fizzle quietly. And Jet are nothing if not logical.
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Lady Sovereign, 'Public Warning' (Def Jam)
Does the pint-size Brit MC already hate her job?
By Will Hermes 10.26.06 3:00 AM
Lady Sov is a brilliant example of how hip-hop adapts to any lowlife's expressive needs. She's white, British, female, and at five-foot-one, a self-proclaimed "midget." But what may be most striking about her is how annoying she already finds the rap grind.
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The Decemberists, 'The Crane Wife' (Capitol)
Marching through genres with book-smart rockers.
By Brian Raftery 10.25.06 3:00 AM
Forget Port of Miami -- when it comes to tales of illicit sex, pillaging, and overall wanton behavior, Rick Ross has nothing on Colin Meloy.
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