New on CD 8/1/03

'Phantom Power'

"Phantom Power," from Britain's Super Furry Animals, is like a long and winding road leading from Wales to a family reunion in America. The album was produced by Mario Caldato Jr. of Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head" fame, and thematically is a musical cousin to that album.

Standouts include the irresistible power-pop of "Liberty Belle" and "The Undefeated," replete with glitzy horns that come off like a Neil Diamond session band. "Venus and Serena," a lament about pet turtles named after the dominating tennis sisters, could actually be a hit in a parallel universe.

Leader Gruff Rhys sings like a wayward nephew of Elvis Costello, and like Costello, has a penchant for social commentary.

Caldato's impact can be heard most on the 7-minute closer, "Slow Life," opening with galactic beats straight out of a late '70s South Bronx boom box. As the song unravels, the listener is treated with lilting harmonies, swirling strings and a bass line deserving of a strobe light.

The album is a lot to digest but ultimately a rewarding listen.

'Second Face'

On "Second Face," the second disc from Danny Wood post-New Kids on the Block, you can still hear traces of the old boy-band formula: consistent drumming, overused rhymes and melodrama. But the lyrics and their messages show that the last decade has shaped this "Kid" into a man.

From the first track, "Home," where he deals with the loss of his mother, to "What If," where he chronicles the daily lives of the homeless, Wood tries to separate himself from the bubble-gum pop of his youth.

Though the tattooed Wood turns to R&B, pop and alternative styles, the smile-provoking "Wannabeme?" has a twang of country and sharp wit: "My girlfriend's mother is going crazy, she keeps on nagging, saying I'm too lazy. She wants the ring, well what's the rush? They both make me drink way too much."

"Suburbia" is another ode chock full of disillusionment: "While all the mothers are feeding on Prozac, their men just can't wait to cheat. AOL is your only escape." It's the record's highlight, and is Wood's best chance to reign the radio, solo.

-- From wire reports