Stereolithic

On their first indie album in more than 20 years, funk metal's chillest bros are less concerned with elbowing for radio play – they've ditched producer Bob Rock after two albums – and are more content to settle into a heavier, self-sustaining life as a reggae version of alt-metal mainstays Helmet. Fighting the push-pull of negative-vibe merchants ("They wanna play my emotions/But I'm like the ocean"), the LP bursts with joyous choruses and taut grooves imported directly from the band's Nineties years – not to mention Sublime's and Faith No More's. There are a few surprises, like when the sappy "Friday Afternoon" busts a left into Black Sabbath, but for the most part it's formulaic all the way.