Resolver (Parental Advisory)
Veruca Salt circulated through the late-'90s barrage of one-hit alt-rock bands with the single "Seether," and the number of critics placing bets in favor of the band's longevity was miniscule. But upon the departure of member Nina Gordon, lead singer Louise Post revamped the group, andResolverbeat the odds. The album follows the lead of fellow Chicagoans theSmashing Pumpkinswith its monstrous guitars squalling against an explosive rhythm section. This tsunami of sound finds a strange bedfellow with Post's vocals. Immediately she seems a sweet, fuzzy urchin, but her abrasive, sexually charged lyrics and grunge-suited scream reveal a wildly rabid kitten with piercing claws and enormous teeth.Resolver's combination of eeriePixies-influenced aggression ("Used to Know Her") and Billy Corgan bombast ("Born Entertainer") makes for a supremely satisfying head bang. Best of all, the new and resoundingly improved Veruca Salt have developed a penchant for slightly quieter songs like "Disconnected," where Post's utterlyunseething, almost exhausted voice carves a wide space between unproduced drums and orchestral instrumentation, resulting in a moment of fierce beauty.--Beth Massa