*** The Cardigans

GRAN TURISMO

(Mercury)

Near the end of Gran Turismo (in stores Tuesday) singer Nina Persson asks, "Do you really think that love is gonna save the world?" And then she answers, cynically, "Well, I don't think so." Coming from a band with such a Noxzema-fresh rep, the sentiment seems way out of character. But with this release the Cardigans -- clearly desperate to be anything but the thinking person's Ace of Base -- embrace the dark side no one knew they had. Turismo is full of buzzing motion-sickness bass lines and foreboding beats, noises more PJ Harvey than Deborah Harry. And yet all this spooky ambiance can't entirely conceal the songs' down-in-the-mouth beauty, or the way Persson's newly world-weary vocals turn "Explode" and "Erase and Rewind" into long, lilting sighs. It's really just an above-average Garbage album. But Persson knows how to make disillusionment sound as inviting as a fuzzy sweater.

-- Alex Pappademas