311 Reveals Musical Finesse

311

“Transistor” (Capricorn)

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to sense that “Transistor” will be the breakthrough record for 311. Brain it out: Some of the biggest hits of recent years tiptoe on the line between punk and Jamaican rhythm. 311, at least, digs deep into that overworked turf to come up with clever, original-sounding songs.

Just about everything on “Transistor” is informed by the kind of musical sophistication that scares most punk bands. You can hear it in the gear-shifts between dreamy reverie and harsh thrash on “No Control,” the choppy, apocalyptic riff that drives “Electricity,” and the lulling, waltz-meter meditation of the deftly harmonized tour de force, “Running.”

Clint Black

“Nothin’ But the Taillights” (RCA)

Is this guy too happy for his music’s good? Clint Black’s brilliant 1989 debut, the honky-tonk-fueled “Killin’ Time,” was inspired by a soured romance, but ever since he found domestic bliss with actress Lisa Hartman, his work has grown softer and emptier.

Except for the sweet, bluegrass-tinged “Our Kind of Love” (with Alison Krauss), Black hints at past glories best when he acknowledges darkness and hurt, as he does on the rocking title track, the orchestral ballad “You Don’t Need Me Now,” and the surprisingly bluesy and hard-bitten “Bitter Side of Sweet.”

10,000 Maniacs

“Love Among the Ruins” (Geffen)

Twirling, warbling diva Natalie Merchant left 10,000 Maniacs in ruins when she departed in 1993 to twirl and warble on her own. In the meantime, she’s been replaced by Mary Ramsey, viola player and singer for the group John and Mary, which included original Maniacs guitarist John Lombardo.

The folk-pop favorites’ first studio effort in five years is livelier than Merchant’s droll, toothless “Tiger Lily.” Ramsey’s viola playing adds warm touches, and she shines on a cover of Roxy Music’s “More Than This.” The Maniacs’ own songs, however, have lapsed into a reliable formula that forsakes the horns-and-strings variety of 1992’s “Our Time in Eden.”