Vision Valley
Nearly doomed by frontman Craig Nicholls's erratic behavior--which resulted in a penchant for engaging in onstage violence with his band mates, coping with a debilitating McDonald's addiction, and generally acting like a doped-up donkey (later diagnosed, according to the band's label, as a rare form of mental illness called Asperger's Syndrome)--the Vines are seemingly back on track with their third album. Having shaken the "Australian Strokes" tag, the group is free to fully indulge its Nirvana/Beatles amalgam, moving from compact, rocket-fueled garage rockers like "Gross Out" and the self-defeating "Don't Listen to the Radio," to more relaxed fare, such as the Bowie-esque closer, "Spaceship." But for all the ups and downs, there's still something contrived about them (maybe it has to do with idiotic jingles like "Futuretarded"), makingVision Valleya nice place to visit but hardly somewhere you would want to dwell.--Aidin Vaziri