I think I can Learn," snarls David Yow on "I Can Learn," before worrying, "but I am not that sure." He can't. Since 1989, the Jesus Lizard, using jazz chord progressions, quick changes and clever riffs, have mixed deft playing with the filth in Yow's imagination. On Blue (their seventh four-letter album title), they've figured out some new tricks – this time out they use tape loops and samples – but the Jesus Lizard show again and again that they're still the same old reptile. When Yow tries something really different – like actually singing, on "When the Rain Came" – the results are hideous. Fortunately, Yow's shouted and slurred torture fantasies are still well represented on songs like "Cold Water" and "A Tale of Two Women." If the results aren't very subtle, the Jesus Lizard remain undisputed masters of the territory between Henry Rollins and Nine Inch Nails. (RS 788)

RICHARD ABOWITZ