action.

Freak*on*Ica, GVSB's sixth release and their major-label debut, is filled with barroom grit, but they have dumped their love affair with all things seedy and blue in favor of mechanized chaos and arty, sinister angularity. Produced by Nick Launay of Birthday Party and PiL fame, the album's layers of guitar and samples make songs like "Black Hole" sound almost industrial in their fury, while songs such as "Park Avenue," with its building beat, climax like a sweaty dance floor. Scott McCloud's voice is still gravelly and rich, but he's often obscured by processed noise and superfluous-sounding DJ scratches. Lyrically, McCloud's street themes (ironic or not) get tiresome. In "Cowboy's Orbit," he tosses out terms like "East coastin', West coastin'," and in "One Firecracker" he rasps, "Kick it!' like a tired Beastie.

Though Freak gels in places, more often than not it's uncomfortable and self-conscious. This album may be a needed transition for a band that's always experimenting, but Girls Against Boys were already leagues ahead of (and far sexier than) their guitar-wielding peers. (RS 788)

LORRAINE ALI