Music Complete

For , 's ninth album and first in a decade, the band signed to new label and welcomed keyboardist back for her first recordings with them since 2001. Unfortunately, original bassist , who quit in 2007, didn't return and his bass duties were taken over by , who played with in . The return of is a clue that the band is looking to the past for inspiration here and forsaking the guitar-driven rock orientation of its last couple albums for something more balanced, if not tipped in favor of more electronic and dancefloor-oriented songs. To that end, they brought in as well as and to produce tracks. Not the most daring or forward-looking choices for collaborators, but their efforts result in some of the album's highlights. invests "Singularity" with some -style punch, while "Unlearn This Hatred" has a passionate, almost industrial drive. The -mixed "Plastic" is the most new wave-sounding moment on the record, full of sparkling surfaces and fueled by some retro sequencers. Elsewhere, the bandmembers take it upon themselves to craft songs that have more joyful bounce than one would expect from them. "Tutti Frutti" is a tricky bit of electro-disco with a rubbery electronic bassline, some vintage keyboard wash from , and a vocal cameo by 's . She's also on "People on the High Line," which is probably the funkiest track they've ever recorded, with finger-popping bass, house-y piano, and a beat that pulsates like a hot N.Y.C. summer night. (The other guest appearances on the album are by ' , who adds some over the top crooning to "Superheated," and , who mumbles semi-coherently through the interminable, momentum-sapping "Stray Dog.") The melancholic guitar-driven songs are a little less interesting, with only "Restless" coming close to the feel of the group's classic tracks. Too many of them come off like by the numbers, with seriously banal (even for him) lyrics from and a string section that only serves to add more weight to the already too-soggy sound. It's hard to say which is most disappointing -- the songs or the sound -- but it's clear that 's bass would definitely have made a huge difference. Though tries his best to conjure up 's famous style without sounding like he's making copies, his efforts really can't compare to the melodic grace and sheer power of 's playing. without is like , only instead of forming in the wake, it's . Even making an allowance for 's glaring absence, is still a watered-down and uninspired album by a band that lost the plot long ago and can now only capture an occasional glimmer of what made it so great in the first place. [The album was released in a deluxe box that included a 2LP set of extended versiuon of all the songs from the album. Making the tracks longer without remixing or reimagining them didn't do much to help make them more interesting or successful, just longer. The set was later released seperately as .] ~ Tim Sendra