Tadpole: The Medusa

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * )

Disclosure: I have slept with three-quarters of this band so I know really how good they are. And on this album, they've got so much better.

Regular readers might remember that I accompanied Tadpole to East Timor a month ago and shared barracks with the quartet's three males. That also meant seeing three of their shows in two days in odd circumstances.

But playing to the troops reminded that they are a rock-pop outfit with the common touch - bold gestures, big tunes.

They're a group that makes a few nods towards contemporary style but likes its crowd-pleasing anthems.

That point that was also proved by their debut album, The Buddhafinger, which sold steadily all the way to double platinum locally and never seemed to run out of singles. But it was a patchy, mundane affair.

The Medusa, however, is louder, moodier, more confident, more varied and more exciting for it.

It does have its flaws. There are a few throwaways among the dozen which sound like they make better live encores than album tracks, like Fast Stuff (which sounds like Brit band Skunk Anansie mugging Michael Jackson) and It's Just Not Rock and Roll, which tries too hard to say something about the State of Rock (but comes with an amusingly self-deprecating finish - singer Renee Brennan having a quiet cough).

Elsewhere, though, The Medusa does a fine line in melancholy but muscular slow-tempo numbers - Condition Chronic, Worn and Weary, and the closing Always Be Mine - which are broad-stroke affairs but with melodies good enough to remind of Chrissie Hynde's balladry.

And then there's the Tadpole's pop-rock hybrid with electronic extras - the best of which include Frequency and Too Cruel (both suggesting No Doubt on techno-metal steroids), Everything Comes Around (brooding 80s synth-rock), World Without You (brooding drum'n'bass-rock), and Now Today Forever (which true to its title sounds like a Bond film theme audition).

Sometimes you wish the band would embrace their pop side more - and mix Brennan's voice further to the fore. But that might be their next trick.

As it is, The Medusa, with its infectious energy, hearty tunes, and emotional range shows Tadpole have successfully embraced that difficult musical concept known "progress" without diminishing their wide appeal.

Label: Antenna