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...

These days, with new rock bands liquored up on punk, big guitars usually mean little brains. But England's Catherine Wheel ally poignant and ironic songwriting with six-string sonics closer to early '70s Pink Floyd than to the Sex Pistols.

If you think that's bad, go back to the turn-of-the-'70s Floyd gems Obscured by Clouds or Meddle. The playing of Brit post-shoegazers like Spiritualized and Blur...