The members of Soul Asylum certainly weren't the first punks to slow down the pace, let their hair grow long and start learning guitar solos, but now they're the best. After releasing three wildly exciting and wildly uneven records on the Twin/Tone label and earning a rep for high-flying live gigs, this Minneapolis quartet has focused its full-bore attack and fired off an awesome volley. Hang' Time is one of the most eloquent guitar-band albums since Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Like Crazy Horse, Soul Asylum uses its raw power judiciously in the service of tightly wound songs. "Down On Up to Me" begins the album with stabs of backbeat; the guitar riffs and vocals seem to build out of, rather than on top of, the drums, and the impact is exhilarating – if not downright stereo threatening. Which isn't to say that Soul Asylum relies exclusively on muscle. Dan Murphy and Dave Pirner are quick-witted guitarists whose endless stream of weird breaks, unexpected endings, strange chord changes and rapid-fire solos always fit somehow.

And while Pirner's singing is your basic unpretentious rebel yell, his songwriting is as nimble as his guitar picking. "Sometime to Return," "Beggars and Choosers" and especially "Standing in the Doorway" are anthems of wary ambivalence; a young man on the threshold of life, love and career steps back and mutters, "Uhunh, I don't think so," as crunching power chords offer respite.

Soul Asylum definitely has its lighter moments: the band members indulge in acoustic tomfoolery ("Twiddly Dee"), politely melodic soft rock ("Marionette") and a crawling, slightly corny breakup dirge ("Endless Farewell"), all without embarrassing themselves. Hang Time is undeniably time well spent. (RS 530-531)

MARK COLEMAN