***1/2 Cracker

GENTLEMAN'S BLUES

((Virgin)

One might suspect that Cracker are entering a period of the doldrums if it weren't that a certain languid nonchalance has always been at the heart of their sound -- certainly at the heart of lead singer David Lowery's distinct and shaggy drawl. Still, the goings-on here tend to be so straightforward, you know a rocker's lament like "The Good Life" is meant to be ironic only because it's being done by Cracker. There are still antic touches, but they're fewer and farther between, with the exception of "Lullabye," a toss-off crammed with whimsical free-associative lyrics. For the most part Lowery and lead guitarist Johnny Hickman are content to write pleasant exercises in various favored genres -- '70s rock ("Waiting for You Girl"), country blues by way of the Stones ("Trials and Tribulations," "Wedding Day"), and a kind of laid-back, loping roots rock which is their signature sound. But if the songs don't seem as sharp as they used to be, there are still plenty of fine moments -- like the bit about the dog on "Hold of Myself" -- that don't seem to mean anything but are just simply, plain cool.

-- Richard C. Walls