Ned`s Atomic Dustbin
Are You Normal? (Columbia) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Ned`s Atomic Dustbin might be Tiger Beat`s answer to alternative rock, but the quintet`s restlessness makes ”Are You Normal” a spirited follow-up to the band`s 1991 U.S. debut, ”God Fodder.” Riding the swells of razor-thrash fretwork, dueling basses and throbbing drums, Jonathan Penney`s vocals lend a melodic and even-tempered keel, softening songs like ”Who Goes First.” The group`s trademark hair-swinging wildness shows in the off-kilter ”You Don`t Want to Do That” (”My feet touch down and my head flies off,” Penney moans). Immaturity accompanies the pervasive youthful exuberance-and it shows in lyrics like ”I`m one piece short of Legoland,”
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but at least the band is finding the building blocks of a fine musical repertoire.
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