*** Drain STH

FREAKS OF NATURE

(Mercury)

Tougher and blacker than their debut, Horror Wrestling, Drain STH's second CD of actressy rock is a wonderful illusion, glam at its wildest. Something like a blend of Alice in Chains' guitar riffs and funkadelic beats, the CD's 11 tracks give hardly a clue that Sweden's best boy-rock band is made up of four women. It takes some acting ability for any band from a non-English-speaking nation to put themselves into American rock, but the role-playing music of Martina Axen, Flavia Canel, Anna Kjellberg, and Maria Sjöholm never quits. Drain STH sure aren't boys -- the liner photos don't lie -- but noise, spleen and joy tracks like "Alive," "Leech" and "Black" cry out, full of rebellious relish, kid stomp so pure you can taste its grin. (Gangsta funky, too, in "Simon Says," a slap-your-hip party song.) And in case you missed the band's glam point, there are plenty of gothic touches, such as Sjöholm's husky vocal in "I Wish" and the sultry orchestration and drama music in "Right Through You."

-- Michael Freedberg