“No More Shall We Part” Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Compare to: Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits. ****

Whoever says love songs are supposed to be happy hasn’t been properly introduced to Nick Cave. On his new album, “No More Shall We Part,” the maestro of melancholy spins threads of despair and hopelessness around the framework of a love song. And it works beautifully.

Cave accepts the fact that there is a potential for pain in any relationship and embraces the sadness that comes along with it on the new album, which is Cave’s 11th studio effort with his band, The Bad Seeds. Just look at the song titles. “As I Sat Sadly By Her Side.” “The Sorrowful Wife.” “Darker With The Day.”

Cave’s characteristic spiritual references also pop up throughout the album. While he celebrates a sort of personal spirituality on some tracks, he takes a poignant stab at some of the holier-than-thou sects of organized religion on “God Is In The House.”

“The tipsy, the reelin’, the drop-down pissed/ We got no time for that stuff here/ Zero crime and no fear/And we’ve bred all our kittens white/ So that you can see them in the night . Hallelujah, God is in the house,” Cave croons, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Although the album still clings to the desperate longing and random bouts of madness that Cave is known for, it may not please the palates of those who like their Cave served up bloody, raw and still mooing (a la 1996’s “Murder Ballads.”) The new Cave is still rare and juicy, but has that unnecessary sprig of parsley on the side that never gets eaten anyway.

For example, Cave’s last studio effort, 1997’s “The Boatman’s Call,” was an immaculate collection of stripped-down, yet heart-wrenching melancholic love songs. In one spare phrase, Cave utters emotions that seem too monumental to put into words. Bare bones. Straight forward. No frills.

The annoying bit of garnish on the new album comes in the form of Anna and Kate McGarrigle, two female backup singers. Though their vocals are adequate enough, Cave’s dark and honest voice needs no accompaniment.

It does just fine oozing with unadulterated emotion on its own. At times on “No More Shall We Part” his voice is so crystal clear that it feels like Cave is standing right there, breathing down the listener’s neck, whispering his chilling laments through the ear and straight into the soul.

Through all of this, Cave still recognizes love as the only salvation from despair. And perhaps that is what makes his messages so monumental.

“Healing” Unloco Compare to: Disturbed, Deftones, Linkin Park ***

At the first listening of Unloco, it is rather easy to label them as just another nu-metal band that sounds like all the rest. But a more thorough listen to this Texas band reveals much more.

Unloco flows in the same vein as fellow metalheads, Disturbed. Each relies as heavily on melodies and good song writing as they rely on heavy crunching guitars.

But don’t get the idea that these boys don’t throw down and pack plenty of heavy and aggressive music into the 44 minutes of “Healing.” Songs like “Na‹ve” hit hard enough to work any moshpit into a frenzy but at the same time, roll with plenty of groove as well.

Vocalist Jose L. Duenas’ versatility throughout the album separates him from today’s mostly one-dimensional frontmen. On “Know One” Duenas shows why the frontman use to be called the singer instead of vocalist. Though he doesn’t have the voice of Ronnie Dio, it is adequate enough to fit the style of the band.

Just one track later, on “Less Of,” Duenas shows he can also unleash a demonic metal scream just as well as Slipknot or Machine Head.

But the major downfall of the band also lies in the hand of Deunas. As far as lyrical content goes, Unloco isn’t exactly inventive. Unloco tends to lean towards subject matter that has grown somewhat clich‚ in metal over the years – the “you ruined my life/ I don’t like you/ get away from me” run-around that bands such as Godsmack live by.

Examples of this are as plentiful as down-tuned guitars. Take the first track of the record, “Useless,” for example. “But how can I explain/ the damage you have done/ when all that’s left is pain.”

The song “Clean” contains the lyrics “Use me as much as you can/ cuz you’ve never been/ more than a friend/ cuz I try to push you away/ and make myself clean/ and forget you hurt me.”

Despite this setback, “Healing” remains a solid debut album and Unloco have a certain freshness to them that should help set them apart in a scene full of stale counterparts.

“October 17, 2000 Kansas City, Missouri” Pearl Jam Compare to: The Who, Neil Young ***1/2

She dreams in color. She dreams in red. Can’t find a better band.

Well, at least not a mainstream rock band that’s better to its fans than Pearl Jam.

Just look at Pearl Jam’s track record. They waged war against the corporate giant that is Ticketmaster. They give their loyal fan club members a Christmas present in the form of an unreleased single on a seven inch each year. But they outdid themselves when they released 72 live recordings from their latest tour. And they charged less than $15 for each double disc set.

Pearl Jam is the band that defines caring about its fans. And the Oct. 12, 2000 Kansas City bootleg drives that point home.

“Is there a way to get a little light on the people up top just to say hello and see who’s up there? It looks good from down here. Take care of each other up there,” frontman Eddie Vedder says to the audience during the first break in the set.

Since there are 72 live CDs, it is the little inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies that set each of these bootlegs apart from one another. For the Kansas City disc, it is Stone Gossard’s scorching guitar solos during “Do The Evolution,” “Even Flow,” and “Black.” It is the extended bridge during “Rearviewmirror.” It is the added “Save It For Later” chant at the end of “Betterman.”

It is the addition of rarities like “U” (which Vedder introduced by saying, “This next one’s a B-side and if it’s hard to find I guess you could always find it on Napster. I think that’s where we got it.”) and covers like Neil Young’s stadium anthem “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

And of course, it is the band talking to the audience, most memorably when Vedder says “How’s everybody in the back? Alright. Anybody making babies up there? If so, I think you should, if it’s a boy – fuck, even if it’s a girl – I think you should name it after Matt Cameron, who’s playing drums tonight .” and later when he urges the crowd to vote for Ralph Nader.

For a live album, the Kansas City bootleg is surprisingly well-recorded and clear. The 26 tracks on the album span both old and new albums and provide a good mix of hits and less-known fan faves that would appeal to even the casual PJ fan.

Pearl Jam has once again proved its devotion to its fans, through the release of the bootlegs and more importantly, by its caring attitude during its concerts.

That’s why it’ll be back again.