"NEW WHIRL ODOR" BY PUBLIC ENEMY; SLAMJAMZ

Public Enemy exploded onto the scene in the late 1980s and, for the band and the world that inspires their lyrics, much remains the same. Another Bush is in the White House; the nation is at war; and P.E. once again is on the outside of what is considered mainstream rap.

One thing remains central — the group's vocal and artistic leader, Chuck D. "New Whirl Odor," P.E.'s first full studio album in six years, carries much of the punch that makes Chuck D. one of the strongest rappers out there. His style is full frontal, holding nothing back.

The first cuts of the album closely stick to P.E.'s signature sound — Chuck's smart delivery, Flavor Flav's sharp backup, guitar hooks and booming rock-oriented beats. When the band ventures into new sounds in the second half of the disc, the timing slows, guest voices take over and much of the power is lost, unfortunately.

— Michelle Morgante, Associated Press

"AERIAL" BY KATE BUSH; SONY

It's been 12 years since English prog-rock faerie queen Kate Bush released an album. In that time, the 47-year-old musical adventurer's influence has grown, with artists from Coldplay to PJ Harvey to Andre 3000 of OutKast proclaiming their adoration.

If anyone was concerned that motherhood and middle age had ironed out Bush's eccentricities, not to worry. "Aerial" is a 16-song, double-disc collection divided into two parts, titled "A Sea of Honey" and "A Sky of Honey." One song features Bush repeating the words "washing machine" as she melds the corporeal and ethereal; another builds a chorus out of the decimal digits of pi. All the traits that make Bush a love-her-or-blame-her-for-Tori-Amos artist are present — she sings along with birds, and tends toward New Agey mysticism.

The good news is that Bush's flair for harmonic invention is intact, and songs like "A Coral Room," written for her late mother, combine undeniable beauty with emotional resonance.

— Dan DeLuca, Knight-Ridder News Service

"REHEARSING MY CHOIR" BY THE FIERY FURNACES; ROUGH TRADE

The Fiery Furnaces — Chicago-bred, Brooklyn-based siblings Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger — progressed from weird to weirder on their first two albums. "Gallowsbird's Bark" (2003) was full of compact, off-center ditties built on saloon piano and barroom guitar; 2004's "Blueberry Boat" was an impressive tour de force of song-suites, a barrage of lyrical and musical twists that was worth the challenges it presented.

This year's model is even weirder. The Friedbergers drafted their 83-year-old grandmother, Olga Sarantos, to narrate stories loosely based on her life while Eleanor sings from the perspective of Sarantos in her youth (supposedly) and Matt plays mad-scientist multi-instrumentalist.

Like "Boat," "Rehearsing My Choir" is dense and breathless; unlike "Boat,"it's basically indecipherable.