Moanin'

Mother Superior's self-titled album provides a comfortable listen for metalheads. The songs are relatively short, with unpretentious lyrics and catchier melodies than might be expected. It's the territory of early Van Halen filtered through punk and grunge attitude, with frontman Jim Wilson playing the roles of both Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth. Wilson's vocals seem slightly weak on the first couple of tracks but pick up later with earthy performances on "Such a Worthless Thing" and "Fell for You Like a Child." As a guitarist, he makes two- and three-chord progressions sound like leads. The album's highlights include the opening track, "Whore," which is nasty but a toe-tapper; "Doghouse" and "Cool Cool Breeze," both upbeat and hummable songs; the Eagles-like ballad "Follow Me Down," which offers a change of pace; and the satirical "Radio Sucks," with guest vocals from Henry Rollins, who also produced the album. ~ Lynne Bronstein|