*** Tripping Daisy

JESUS HITS LIKE THE ATOM BOMB

(Island)

Temporary retirement has served this Dallas-based outfit well. Burned out after relentless touring behind their second Island disc, i am an Elastic Firecracker, the band called it a day back in '95. Or so they thought. But with Jesus Hits, a well-rested Tripping Daisy sound rejuvenated. The line-up is now a quintet, with two new members, guitarist/trumpeter Philip Karnats and drummer Ben Curtis, and their contribution to the band's, uh, trippy sound is seamless (the horns add a dash of Pepper, as in "Sergeant," to the group's psychedelic feast). Tim DeLaughter's woozy, rippling voice still sounds eerily similar to Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne's (in fact the whole band sound like the Lips), and their warped brand of oxygen-depleted ozone pop -- not to mention their chattering about Martians and golden eggs and such -- owes a serious debt to Jane's Addiction. But songs like "Sonic Bloom" and "About the Movies" remain striking daydreams, lovely pastels shot through with vivid jags of Technicolor.

-- Jonathan Perry