Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

At the end of New Radicals' current single, You Get What You Give, Gregg Alexander takes a swipe at Courtney Love, Beck and Marilyn Manson, singing, "You're all fakes/ Run to your mansions/ Come around/ We'll kick your a__ in." Make a statement like that, and you've got to back it up with material better than the music of the acts you've criticized. Well, while this album isn't a creative breakthrough, it does have charm and verve. A number of songs are anthem-like and uplifting, and when Alexander howls the choruses, he seems convinced that what he's doing is powerful and revelatory, and now and again, for a sweet flash, he makes the listener believe it too. One other thing: he is a better performer than Marilyn Manson.

--By Christopher John Farley