Whale never sleep. "We Care," their debut album, follows 1993's "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe." That single, a roar of uprooted funk and hoarse cheerleading, had people all over the world wondering just who the hell Whale were – perhaps a band that sounded like it should have its own jersey? What they are is three Swedish kids who confuse the rah-rah boisterousness of European sports events with the sonic and sexual abandon of American rock & roll. The trio satisfies a raging appetite for distorted guitars while remembering punk and betraying an inevitable background in Abbaesque pop. And at the same time, Whale latch onto refracted hip-hop like Tricky, who produced and/or rapped on three tracks on this album.

Turns out the trio consists of singer Cia Berg, guitarist Henrik Schyffert and bassist Gordon Cyrus. We Care is their playhouse, and it's a terrific one – a big, old place where Whale can do horny valentines like "Kickin'," bent rave-ups like "That's Where It's At" and "Pay for Me," and championship punk like "I Miss Me." Berg's fluent vocals are mostly punctuated with outbursts from the guys, although she sometimes yells appropriate things like "I'll make you a stew out of mildew and crazy glue" or tells a boyfriend, "You're my Santa Claus machine." Near the end of the album, as antique Hammond organ lines sculpt the dicey atmosphere, she grows as serious as Abba's Agnetha or Frida and describes how a car wreck can char flesh and ruin hairdos.

On "I'll Do Ya," with its loose drumming and hilarious metalhead sex talk, Berg commands, "Take me higher, tiger," as the music bashes its way into shapes as clear and sharp as a New Orleans soul tune. And on "Young, Dumb and Full of Cum" – Whale's "Stairway to Heaven" – Berg and Tricky exchange psychedelic irrelevancies as rhythms dart and the guitar scissors. "I want to dance the rock & roll," she purrs as Tricky mumbles down below in the mix amid loads of other twisted musical events. That's the useful, messed-up ultimate message of We Care: To dance the rock & roll, you've got to shake it up. (RS 719)

JAMES HUNTER