*** Big Sugar

HEATED

(Capricorn)

Capricorn's best signing since Gov't Mule combine big guitars with big influences: the reverb-drenched sweep of Jamaican dub and the rhythmic tics of reggae, as well as the tight hi-hat and whomping snare of hip-hop. But they are purely a rock band, driven by Gordie Johnson's nasty, fat-assed guitar and an urge to grind that cuts into blaring declarations of purpose like "Where I Stand" and the smooth groove "100 Cigarettes." They're Canadian, too, so they've got the balls to cover Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Let It Ride" like the sparkling rock gem it is. Johnson's also a chameleon-like singer who can glide to a pleasing near-falsetto or shout like the bluesmen he copped some of his licks from as a kid. If all new mainstream rock were this inventive, I'd actually be able to listen to WAAF.

-- Ted Drozdowski