*** The Wellwater Conspiracy

BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRIC: OCCUPATIONAL DIRECTIVE(S)

(Time Bomb)

On their '97 debut, Declaration of Conformity, this group of acid-fried alter egos concocted by Soundgarden's Matt Cameron and Monster Magnet's John McBain covered Syd Barrett, paid homage to Who/Kinks producer Shel Talmy, and in general sounded as if they had traded in their Sabbath and Zep albums for a batch of vintage Chocolate Watchband and Troggs singles. This time around finds WC moving into acid/prog-rock territory -- "Born with a Tail" and "Psycho Scrimm," for instance, recall something off of Pink Floyd's Meddle. But mostly we still get garage-centric rave-ups like the deadly Sonics-esque rattle of "Compellor" and the giddy Nuggets-style teen trash of "Red Light Green Light." Although the titles of each of WC's albums (not to mention the moldy power-to-the-people "manifestos" gracing each booklet) have the wink and whiff of a put-on about them, there's nothing about the way McBain and Cameron kick out of the jams that sounds patronizing or snide. And though Brotherhood's not as cohesive as its predecessor, the only real misstep comes, ironically enough, on "Van Vanishing," a sludgy grunge power ballad that sounds suspiciously like Chris Cornell on vocals.

-- Jonathan Perry