It’s the return of the manic depressive British guys! Former solo artist and Echo and the Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch is back and has strapped on a serious rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Gone are the days of crispy, hairsprayed coifs and eyeliner. Personal woe is no longer the musical engine. Electrafixion is the new way for McCulloch and Burned is the new vehicle.

There aren’t many soft moments on this album and even fewer drippy, sensitive ones. Imagine The Doors coming out of England with better lyrics and bass. The lyrics aren’t meant to be cryptic or clever, but part of the volatile, psychedelic paisley yin-yang that is Burned.

The album bursts open with the catalyst riff of “Feel My Pulse.” From that point on, the album becomes a hurricane with more eyes than a potato. The guitars and bass are swirled together in a musical arrangement that is hell bent on aural conquest rather than blending diverse melodic elements. Add the periodic use of crescendo, and you can see every blow coming, although you can’t dodge a single one. Remember crescendo? It’s that gradual, effective build up of intensity in the song that most rock musicians don’t use.

It would be interesting to see how these guys are live. My guess would be that they’d lull the audience into a trance then burn the place. Now that’s an encore.

Back in America, there’s the glamorous state of California: home of oranges, Disneyland and, no doubt, bands. California happens to be the home of No Doubt, a band. No Doubt recently enjoyed a spot touring with 311 (and were no doubt better than Phunk Junkees). Where they are is on a Sesame Street bus somewhere between ska and, well, something else.

The ska influence on Tragic Kingdom is obvious from “Spiderwebs” throughout the rest of the album, but isn’t the be all and end all to the music. At times it seems as if Prince might have been an influence what with the inspired squalls of “The Climb” and the sing-song “World Go Round.” With these factors in mind, No Doubt bears no resemblance to ska peers like MU330, Skankin’ Pickle or even 80’s ska-sters Madness.

What adds to the group’s great chemistry is vocalist Gwen Stefani, who is a girl in a boys’ world. It doesn’t matter. She sings better than most and can take hits as well as deliver them. Her voice is the foam flowing atop the band’s waves. The addition of horns, sitar and steel drums in the studio fills out the sound perfectly to aid the band in eclipsing any comparison to contemporaries.

The band has some weird connections, too. Stefani’s brother, Eric, used to be the keyboardist for the group, but went on to do cartooning full time and now works on “The Simpsons.” In addition, the man who produced the album is named Matthew Wilder and could (or could not) be the same ’80s guy who sang “Ain’t nothin’ gonna break-a mah stride…” That would be scary.

What else is scary and mystical is the way Sonic Youth has maintained its status. They’ve been around for a long time and still have a death grip on their fan base. Most bands fizzle before they think about being around for ten years-plus. Take a look at Warrant. No, don’t take a look at Warrant (apples and oranges, you know). It bodes poorly when a band speaks of a comeback, but Sonic Youth is nowhere near that stage of thought.

Washing Machine is indicative of the band’s return to the Sonic Youth that long-time fans are familiar with. Instead of coming out sounding “new,” SY comes out sounding “still.” The band seems to have treated Dirty and maybe even Goo as brief departures (much like the ignoring of Highlander 2).

Washing Machine continues along the same track as Daydream Nation and Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.

Fans can expect the same squelches, squeaks and meandering that other bands haven’t been able to mimic. The main difference is that bassist Kim Gordon sets aside the bass at times to run another guitar into the mix. Still, she continues to wheeze and rasp along on songs like “Becuz.” One of the highlights on the album is the guest appearance of Kim Gordon on “Little Trouble Girl.”

Not much more can be said of Sonic Youth without being redundant. If there were a college rock hall of fame, SY would definitely be inductees. They are steady, unwavering, unshaken. When you’re unique, you can do things like that.