Music » British Alternative Rock Music

Eleven echo-drenched songs that zero in directly on the modern-rock jugular. A blend of latter-day U2 and pre-In the Pink Psychedelic Furs, this four-piece swings hard and intense on gritty fare like "Feel My Pulse," "Zephyr," and "Who's Been Sleeping in My Head." Ex-Bunnymen Ian McCulloch has rarely been this focused, while Will Sergeant's inventive guitars are a revelation throughout. --Jeff Bateman

The group's fourth album, Devil Hopping (Mute/Elektra), pairs the band with producer Pascal Gabriel (EMF, New Order, "Theme from S'Express") for a frenzied, churning sound that trades the Manchester groove for Red Hot Chili Peppers funk. --Jim DeRogatis

The Inspiral Carpets emerged from Manchester's rave/club scene alongside the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Each of these groups fused a dance groove to 60s-styled pop, the Carpets' brand of psychedelia fashioned by Clint Boon's Vox-styled organ work. Taking inspiration from garage bands and the Doors, he adds a distinctive flourish to the band's grasp of simple, commercial melodies. Life is the unit's first full-length album, following three EPs and a selection drawn from John Peel sessions. It captures their enthusiastic slant on a genre briefly in vogue, and one to which they brought humour and a refreshing eclecticism. Mute.

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