Despite the blurting guitar farts that mar "Too Much of Nothing," the first single from General Public's new album, the band hasn't traded in its unpredictable beat for used power chords. Thankfully, the other nine songs on Hand to Mouth slip into a comfortable groove somewhere between reggae and lite metal. And even when the going gets a little sticky, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger's rough harmonies flow and their words stick in your mind. Wakeling's a witty lyricist, and each song on Hand to Mouth is fiercely intelligent and very accessible. By turning clichés and catch phrases upside down against a fluttering beat, General Public creates pop that's thought provoking but never pedantic.

Take "Come Again," for instance. The chorus is a melancholy chant against a happy horn chart – "Come again, come again/Oh help me through the night/Come again, oh Jesus Christ" – and the lack of true-believer fervor draws a blank. When Wakeling sings, "Second time will be twice as nice," it isn't snide; he sounds very intrigued but objective. "Come Again" leaves you humming and wondering, "Yeah, what if he did?"

Fortunately, there are less controversial songs on this LP that stand a better chance of getting airplay. "Faults and All" wraps a beautifully cheap-sounding organ riff around an unsentimental love song, while "Cheque in the Post" bemoans the optimist's fate in a cynical world, with a guitar-driven rock riff and a touch of skank. General Public still sounds most convincing on bottom-heavy reggae cuts like "Forward as One" and (especially) "In Conversation," where the voices jump through the holes in the throb-and-wiggle rhythms. But even when attempting to meet a larger audience halfway, General Public seems incapable of merely telling people what they want to hear. (RS 488)

MARK COLEMAN