Twisted (CD) by Del Amitri

From the land of men in kilts come Del Amitri, whose 1992 hit single "Always The Last To Know," from their third U.S. album CHANGE EVERYTHING, introduced them to many American listeners. TWISTED is another collection of well-crafted pop songs, but with a grittier and darker gauze wrapped over them.

Del Amitri--meaning "from the womb" in Greek--serve up a stew of hooks, harmonies and gnarly guitars, with influences that range from '60's British Invasion pop to early '80's punk and new wave. "Roll To Me," a spry two-minute slice of Hollies-tinted pop, is Del Amitri at their niftiest--over in a flash, and stuck in your head all day. Delving further into TWISTED, you'll find the power punk of "Start With Me," complete with Justin Currie's bass slapping out a "Lust For Life" beat, while Raspberries-like harmonies and charging guitars fill the spaces in-between.

Although Del Amitri walk the sunnier side of music, lyrically this Glasgow group is as dour as Scottish weather. Lyricists Currie and Ian Harvie see their respective glasses as being less than half empty, the contents hardly adding up to a few drops. The enormousness of solitude weighs heavily on "Crashing Down," whose very title speaks volumes, while on "Never Enough," Currie sings that "Life ain't worth living without a little love/But a little love is never enough." Whatever hope left remaining gets squashed on "Breaking Down," which paints a world of madness that has the moon throwing up and books jumping off shelves.