Soul Coughing just may be rap rock's great white hope – emphasis on the maybe. El Oso, the New York quartet's third album, finds it losing the tug of war between avant-garde adventurousness and alt-rock accessibility, Despite the bouncy guitar sproing! of the single "Circles," which should appeal to Dave Matthews fans, El Oso returns to the band's more out-there leanings. It's a tack that doesn't play to Soul Coughing's strengths. For instance, bandleader M. Doughty's neo-Ginsbergian howl – a cross between Beck's get-down Dylanisms and They Might Be Giants' playful poesy – is more upfront than ever, and that's not always a good thing. On 1996's Irresistible Bliss, co-producer David Kahne tempered Doughty's free association with real hooks. This time, co-producer Tchad Blake (who also oversaw Ruby Vroom) lets Doughty's lyrical spew and nasal whine run wild, which can get repetitive and annoying – just why does he repeat "roller-boogie motherfucker" endlessly on "Houston"? The album's catchiest song is "Rolling," which sports some ill drum-and-bass rhythms; elsewhere, the band enlists U.K. producer Optical to help it keep up with the jungle Joneses. However flawed their stylistic experiments may be, Soul Coughing remain admirable in comparison with their peers in the raprock sweepstakes. (RS 800)

MATT DIEHL