keep doing this for another fourteen years. Munki offers no emotional or intellectual content, just great tunes full of sexy, sarcastic deadpan shtick. The Reids begin the album with "I Love Rock'n'Roll," end it with "I Hate Rock'n'Roll" and somehow convince you they're lying in both songs.

The highlight of Munki comes when the Reids bring in their sister Linda to sing "Mo Tucker," a smashing tribute to the Velvet Underground's drummer. Linda Reid manages to sound even more bored than her brothers, which is part of the fun. Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval drops by to moan on the psychedelic slow dance "Perfume." Elsewhere, the Reids quote lots of pop-culture icons, rev up their slick guitar hooks and make mock-prophetic proclamations ("Liberate my mind/It's penetration time") that probably impress groupies but just make the rest of us laugh. Even when their lyrics actually seem thoughtful ("Everybody hates a president/Everybody loves a queen"), you know it's only an accident. "Birthday," "Supertramp" and "I Can't Find the Time for Times" all rank among the Chain's kickiest creations. And, needless to say, they all sound pretty much the same. (RS 788)

ROB SHEFFIELD