Follow-up transcends traditions

Electrelane

“The Power Out” (Too Pure/Beggars Group)

*** 1/2

Anyone who heard the mostly instrumental two-chord (and sometimes one-chord) Farfisa and guitar rock drones of Electrelane’s 2001 debut, “Rock It to the Moon,” would hardly be prepared for the creative leap of this follow-up. At its core it’s still two-chord (and sometimes one) drones, retaining a pulsating Velvet Underground-Krautrock minimalist ambience. But it’s what the English female quartet has done within and on top of those drones that is so striking.

The musical sense has grown in nuance and finesse, though the most notable change is the increase of vocals. The focus is not so much on the words as on the sounds. The stunner is “The Valleys,” in which Verity Susman’s unaffected voice is set in a sonic mosaic formed by a 12-voice chorus, creating an aura of spiritual drama.

Much credit must go to producer Steve Albini, but the band itself was clearly up for creating entrancing music that at once revels in and transcends rock traditions -- a perfect addition to the Too Pure legacy that includes P.J. Harvey.

-- Steve Hochman

Country-flavored social opinions

Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova

“One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels” (Crank!)

***

Besides his gifts as a singer and songwriter, one reason for Conor Oberst’s indie-rock prominence is his willingness to mix it up. When his band Bright Eyes isn’t in action, he’ll plunge into rocking social commentary with the side project Desaparecidos or spend downtime coaxing the two women of Azure Ray into relocating to his Omaha base.

This six-song collection is another fruit of his networking, a so-called split EP featuring three Oberst compositions alternating with three written by the Omaha band Neva Dinova. Members of both groups play on all the songs, and each writer sings his own, until Neva Dinova’s Jake Bellows takes the lead on Oberst’s finale “Spring Cleaning,” about a pregnant friend, her abusive man and a heart stored in mothballs.

Since he’s crept up to the brink of stardom in the last couple of years, Oberst’s contributions probably will get the main scrutiny when the EP is released April 20. These interim markers on his path to glory are wounded but hopeful love songs, casual in tone and typically impressive in their craft and artistry, with literary narrative and detail yielding the naked soul-baring that his fans treasure.

In Bellows Oberst has a formidable kindred spirit, one given to country-flavored plaints in his own songs. Together, they’re a poetically downbeat pair, a two-headed embodiment of trembling vulnerability and infinite possibility.

-- Richard Cromelin

Rapping with revolution in mind

Dead Prez

“RBG: Revolutionary but Gangsta” (Columbia)

***

With 2000’s sonically stellar and lyrically incendiary “Let’s Get Free,” this New York-based rap duo presented itself as Public Enemy’s more militant descendant. Stic and M1 called for mental, physical and even dietary revolution.

After releasing two searing independent “mixtape” albums, Dead Prez returns with another somber but compelling dose of revolution-minded music. The militaristic “Walk Like a Warrior” contains a chilling verse from guest Krayzie Bone and another track features the group reflecting on the ill effects of drug abuse. On the acoustic guitar-driven “W-4,” the two lament the dead-end job cycle that ensnares many lower-class citizens, while the previously released “Radio Freq” brings attention to the numbing nature of contemporary radio playlists.

Indeed, throughout the album Stic and M1’s straightforward delivery, serious subject matter and dark, drum-driven production make for heavy yet riveting listening. Public Enemy would be proud.

-- Soren Baker

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.