Music

B+

Big Blue Ball

Real World

REAL WORLD ALL STARS: More than 17 years in the making, Big Blue Ball is the brainchild of Peter Gabriel, who produced the jam sessions at his Real World studio in southwest England. Many of the songs were cut in the early '90s, but these cross-cultural experiments rarely sound dated.

BIG NAMES AND OBSCURE SINGERS: Mr. Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor and World Party's Karl Wallinger sing on several tunes. But some of the best tracks feature lesser-known acts such as late Tanzanian singer Hukwe Zawose, who teams with Living Colour's Vernon Reid on the creepy "Forest." Equally potent is "Shadow," which pairs Congolese singer Papa Wemba with flamenco guitarist Juan Cañizares.

BOTTOM LINE: An excellent primer for those whose only notion of world music comes from Vampire Weekend.

Thor Christensen

B+

Hymn and Her

Majordomo

FAMILIARITY ... : Although it's highly unlikely that Earlimart deliberately attempts to sound like any other group, the duo's sound has similarities to other artists. Aaron Espinoza sings with the desolate sweetness of Elliott Smith; Ariana Murray evokes the waifish strength of Suzanne Vega; and song titles such as "Face Down in the Right Town" recall Belle and Sebastian's bright hopelessness.

... BREEDS PLEASURE: Those are excellent resemblances to have, though, especially considering how well Earlimart refracts them through its own perspective. On Hymn and Her, indie-artist pop music is by turns ascetically gritty ("Cigarettes and Kerosene"), baroquely melancholy ("Time for Yourself"), starkly classicist ("Tell Me") and grandly Beatles-esque ("God Loves You the Best"). At every turn, it is a gently lovely pleasure.

BOTTOM LINE: Not without peer, but quite without false notes.

Jon M. Gilbertson

B-

Forgiven

Epic

ALL'S WELL ON THE SURFACE: Forgiven, the third studio CD from San Angelo's Los Lonely Boys, finds brothers Henry, Ringo and Jojo Garza in seemingly fine shape. The trademark harmonies are intact; the blazing guitar work still has that Carlos Santana-meets-Jimi Hendrix vibe; and we still get the signature mix of rock, blues, soul, country and Tejano.

BUT SOMETHING'S NOT THE SAME: The dozen nuggets plod along with precious few bursts of power, namely "Heart Won't Tell a Lie," "Superman," "Staying With Me" and a cover of Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man." And there are plenty of tepid moments, especially "Loving You Always," "Make It Better," "Forgiven" and "Love Don't Care About Me." It's as if some of the energy from this once-fiery group has been extinguished.

BOTTOM LINE: The first recorded misstep for the Boys. Let's hope it's the only time they'll need to be apologetic.

Mario Tarradell

B-

The Sound of Madness

Atlantic

SHINY, EVEN ON THE EDGE: Jacksonville, Fla., quintet Shinedown's niche in modern hard rock is a hearty one – the slot beside the radio rock of Nickelback and the dirtiness of Seether, with some flaking Southern-rock paint for color. What lifted Shinedown beyond others through its first two album cycles is threefold: its impassioned live show, even when ragged; an expert sense of composition and dramatics on recordings; and the inescapable quality of Brent Smith's voice and personality.

A RUSH TO MUSH: On its third CD, two of those three elements are tamed. Mr. Smith has said that The Sound of Madness would be a harder listen, and it is: "Devour," "Sin With a Grin" and "Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide" are the heaviest songs Shinedown's ever put to tape. But that's done at the expense of tone and the band's nascent character. Zach Myers' and Nick Perri's axe work is a morass of distortion and generica, and the subtle Dixieland swagger of past Shinedown music is buried under either that heaviness or sure-to-sell formulas ("What a Shame," "Breaking Inside"). Good stuff's here: "Second Chance" is a towering and lush sleeper megahit.

BOTTOM LINE: Still a floor above the usual corporate-rock stoop, but on the decline. Let's hope it's not a free fall.

Mike Daniel

•With Endeverafter and Jet Black Stare, Wednesday at the Palladium Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.