Catherine Wheel began, in the early '90s, as a moody, distortion-heavy "shoe gazer" band, but the English group's attention and ambition have since shifted to the stars. With its fourth LP, Adam and Eve, it eschews the guitar-heavy haze of previous efforts for appealing melodies and a sense of drama and musical sweep rarely found in '90s guitar rock. "Here Comes the Fat Controller" offers a beautiful melody filtered through a fuzz-toned fog; "Delicious" adds textured guitars and psychedelic sounds to power-pop energy; and "Future Boy" conveys naked emotion on a scale so grand that it would make Billy Corgan proud. Steering clear of art-rock excess, on Adam and Eve, Catherine Wheel deliver beautifully embellished pop with a sonic scope rarely seen since Pink Floyd's prime. (RS 771)

ROBERT LEVINE