Billboard CD reviews

NEW YORK - The long, weird saga of the Smashing Pumpkins opens a new chapter with "Zeitgeist," their first disc since splitting in 2000.

The group was always primarily a fancy name for Billy Corgan anyway, so this quote-fingers comeback, which features only Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin from the glory days, is actually more genuine than most. It's still a mess, though an ambitious and grandiose one. Corgan certainly hasn't forgotten how to make a Pumpkins record, as gleaming serrated guitars, fantastic torrents of drums and twisting layers of vocals dominate. But though his celestial indulgences are still in place (especially on "United States," the record's end-times centerpiece), Corgan's rock tracks sound weirdly thin. He's more disarmingly effective on tracks like "That's the Way (My Love Is)," a pop gem that leaps off the record, and the "Mellon Collie"-referencing closer "Pomp and Circumstance."

ARTIST: CROWDED HOUSE

ALBUM: TIME ON EARTH (ATO Records)

If you've been at all aware of Neil Finn's steady output in the 11 years since he dismantled Crowded House, none of the bittersweet midtempo rock on this reunion album will surprise you. Gone are the more overtly '80s top 40 flourishes, but the project's 14 tracks are still filled with well-made guitar and piano pop that missteps only when Finn and company lapse into whispery quietude for too long ("A Sigh"). Reminiscent of the cool groove of Finn's 1998 solo single "Sinner," the best moments here are catchy and slightly dark, like "Heaven That I'm Making," all subtle horns and wah-wah. Topped by Finn's as-always achingly smooth harmonies about the vagaries of everyday love, this is Crowded House as sing-along-ready as ever.

ARTIST: GOGOL BORDELLO

ALBUM: SUPER TARANTA! (SideOneDummy Records)

OK, so these guys are still crazy in the best possible way, blending Eastern European Gypsy stylings and a punk rock sensibility into a ferocious, frenzied sound that has no real peer or progenitor in pop music. Imagine the B-52's playing a wedding in Siberia and you'll have a loose idea of what's in store on these 14 tracks. "Ultimate" gets things going in a frenzy of fiddles, accordion and guitar as Eugene Hutz urges us to "Go forever crazy with it!," while the politically minded "Zina-Marina" and "Forces of Victory" weave some rock guitar crunch into the mix. There's plenty of social commentary on such tracks as "Harem in Tuscany (Taranta)," "Tribal Connection" and "Your Country," while "American Wedding" offers a genuinely hysterical comparison of cultural institutions -- and is likely the only rock song that will mention marinated herring this year.

ARTIST: INTERPOL

ALBUM: OUR LOVE TO ADMIRE (Capitol Records)

In Interpol's world, the sky is always molten, the night is star-swept and every decision places souls on the line. The New York quartet retains its flair for dramatic images and ominous guitar lines on its major-label debut, but with producer/mixer Rich Costey on board, these signatures uncoil into more complex soundscapes. The band's trademark angularity fills out beautifully from Gothic opener "Pioneer to the Falls" through the woozy "Rest My Chemistry" to the spacy, shimmering "The Lighthouse." With this added heft, frontman Paul Banks' grave intonation becomes actual singing on "Mammoth" and "Pace Is the Trick," while Daniel Kessler's sinewy guitar and the jumpy throb of the rhythm section expands easily without losing its edge. The single "The Heinrich Maneuver" strikes a too-familiar note, but it's the evolved sound of the rest of the album that should lure new fans.

ARTIST: MARK RONSON

ALBUM: VERSION (RCA Records)

British indie rock has been called a lot of things, but "nutty fun" isn't frequently one of them, which is what makes "Version" such an exhilarating summertime throwdown. Best-known around these parts for producing Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson takes the occasion to decorate songs by Coldplay ("God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," given a James Bond-theme treatment featuring the Daptone Horns), the Smiths and even Ryan Adams with several coats of sunshine-colored paint, throwing horns, splashing drums and assorted Stax/Volt touches all over everything. Not surprisingly he gives prime screen time to his ladies: Allen turns the Kaiser Chiefs' "Oh My God" into a flight-ready R&B workout; Winehouse's horn-washed cover of the Zutons' "Valerie" is single-worthy. Jammed with ambition and a sense of goodwill you can almost touch, "Version" is the massively enjoyable sound of a guy determined not to miss a minute of his moment.

ARTIST: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

ALBUM: THE ELSE (Zoe/Idlewild Records)

Old-school nerds rejoice: They Might Be Giants' 12th full-length record is arguably their best since 1994's "John Henry." This is no children's album or a compilation of odds and ends/Internet-only releases. "The Else" is a rock/pop record of the kind that only the Brooklyn-based duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell can create. These 13 lovably kooky tracks are powered by super-catchy guitar-and-keyboard riffs and well-practiced vocal harmonies. Highlights include low-key opener "I'm Impressed," swirling minor-key rocker "Climbing the Walls" and the chugging "Bee of the Bird of the Moth," an ode to an obscure insect that harks back to TMBG's early-'90s heyday, when such random subject matter wouldn't ever get in the way of a great hook.

ARTIST: TAB BENOIT

ALBUM: POWER OF THE PONTCHARTRAIN (Telarc Records)

Louisiana bluesman Tab Benoit has just dropped the best album of his career on us. "Power of the Pontchartrain" is an 11-track wonder that showcases Benoit's thorough command of contemporary blues. He's got it going on here with splendid songwriting, gritty vocals and choice lead guitar work. He cut the record with Louisiana band Leroux, a crew that carries a pretty heavy reputation in the bayou country. The disc opens with killer blues tune "Don't Make No Senbse," and the groove only gets better. Benoit taps his Cajun roots for the very cool "Sac-au-lait Fishing," knocks off a great soul number on "Guilty of Lovin' You" and imparts a decidedly bluesy vibe to the Buffalo Springfield classic "For What It's Worth."

ARTIST: ALY & AJ

ALBUM: INSOMNIATIC (Hollywood Records)

In which the teen princesses of Radio Disney and their own branding empire construct an endlessly ambitious yet endlessly effervescent confessional pop-rock breakup album that deserves to carry them far beyond their teen pop base -- in the Pat Benatar era, that would've been likely. Departures range from the delirious '80s California New Wave amusement-park pop of "Like Whoa" to the title cut's blurry-eyed Nirvana pastiche to "Bullseye," with power chords hitting the spot. Tunes are dressed up in a heavenly Europop-synth sparkle, and the lyrics -- frequently harmonized through complex Destiny's Child time signatures -- turn blood on the tracks into a celebration: "I used to wear your shirt to bed / Now it's in the trash instead"; "I'm getting closer to closure"; "Let me repeat that / I want my stuff back / You can send it in a box." On their birthday. Their "stupid birthday."