Adamantly arty, these New York subversives have since 1986 never lost faith in hypnotic guitar. Members have come and gone (Page Hamilton of Helmet, for instance), but songwriter and guitarist Robert Poss and bassist Susan Stenger prevail with dronefests rich in texture and heavy with stream-of-consciousness musings. A lyric from "Dirge" catches their tone: "Love mixed with dread." They also champion political outrage, fierce feminism and wily humor. Seizing a riff, they ride it for at least seven minutes, piling on three guitars until the entire affair thuds toward transcendence. On demanding fare like "Pardon My French" and "Elizabeth Stride (1843-1888)," the radical strategy pays off in music that is brainy, visceral and bracing. (RS 708)

PAUL EVANS