CD reviews

The Whigs, "Mission Control" (ATO)

For those thinking that few bands still rock with reckless abandon while holding onto effervescent melodies, it's time to check out the Whigs, a much-touted trio out of Athens, Ga.

Produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Guided by Voices), "Mission Control" blasts off with a sound that's reminiscent of earlier acts ranging from the Replacements to the Clash, with traces of Foo Fighters and even the rhythm-section torrent of the early Who. Surging from the start on "Like a Vibration," the Whigs settle into several scorchers, including "I Never Want to Go Home" and "Right Hand on My Heart," the latter riding on the pummeling by drummer Julian Dorio.

There's a raw-edged urgency and energy that flow through one of the set's best cuts, "1,000 Wives," and horns provide the perfect counterpoint to the perfectly constructed "I Got Ideas." Parker Gispert's vocals can be smooth, subtle and understated (on the title cut) or completely lacerated ("Need You Need You"), just one more trait that helps make this crew pack a whole lot more punch than the standard rock trio.

It's still very early, but consider this 37-minute disc the first great rock album of 2008.

KEVIN O'HARE, NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocketful

G-rated pop queens have a hard time growing up. The transition to womanhood is usually signaled by a declaration of sexual power. Give credit to Bedingfield, who's trying to make adult dance pop that's not overly promiscuous, in the sexual or self-promotional sense. The 27-year-old Brit has a nicely husky voice and a style that's modest without being prudish. Her 2004 solo debut, "Unwritten," yielded a few appealing hits, including the theme for TV's tarty "The Hills."

Bedingfield's sophomore album, released abroad under the title "N.B.," had some inevitable flailing, including the bizarre hit "I Wanna Have Your Babies." "Pocketful of Sunshine" salvages about half of "N.B.," adding tracks produced by Rodney Jerkins, J.R. Rotem and John Shanks.

There's no "Babies" here, which is really too bad -- as awkward as the song is, it fleshes out Bedingfield's vision better than Jerkins' Mary J. Bligean "Angel" or Rotem's Fergilicious "Piece of Your Heart."

Of the new material, the self-empowerment anthems "Freckles" and "Happy" show Bedingfield's best side. She also is very good at nostalgia. "Backyard" is this year's "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?": a rapturous expression of desire for the simple boy-girl games of childhood that simultaneously embraces and makes light of gender stereotypes. This is where the real Bedingfield seems to live: inside the question of what it means to be a nice, normal girl, even as she refuses to abandon that dream.