6 Summer Albums to Play Nice and Loud

By Josh Tyrangiel

SONIC YOUTH RATHER RIPPED For almost three decades, no one has exuded so much cool and produced so few melodies as Sonic Youth. It's not that these New Yorkers are incapable--they're just obstreperous, which makes the arrival of their first great rock album such a shock. They haven't rid themselves of their beloved guitar fuzz, but on songs like Reena and the sublime Jams Runs Free, the noise takes a backseat to focused songcraft and real, live hummable riffs. To top it off, Kim Gordon has emerged from her decade-long Nico-soundalike contest and is enunciating again. Calling it a career best would only make them angry, so let's just say it's really good.

BUSTA RHYMES THE BIG BANG With his ferocious bark and split-timed delivery, Rhymes has always been two-thirds of a great rapper. The missing ingredient--a single deep thought--has been elusive, although on his seventh album he at least gives it a shot. The lyrics ("See the facts that I'm trying to strive and capitalize/ And start to maxima-mize and bu-build and enter-terprise") are passable, but what lingers is energetic drop-bys from Stevie Wonder and the late Rick James (in a final cameo) and window-rattling production from Dr. Dre.

TAPES 'N TAPES THE LOON If you like indie rock, you probably own a dozen albums just like this Minneapolis, Minn., band's taut, lo-fi debut--and you will want this one too. The lyrics are from the Pavement school of abstraction ("Kelly the insistor/ Your brother is a blister"), and lead singer Josh Grier has the same dry, almost cracking voice as David Byrne. What's original is Tapes 'n Tapes' ability to spin out compelling little mood fantasias, from the spooky isolation of Omaha to the drunken, bluesy instrumental Crazy Eights. The Loon feels eremitic and weird but warm too.

TOBY KEITH WHITE TRASH WITH MONEY Like most other country males, Keith invented a persona--the take-no-crap redneck instigator --and he's sticking to it. That doesn't mean he can't tweak it. His most accomplished record balances exuberantly stupid singles (Get Drunk and Be Somebody) with sensitive love songs (A Little Too Late). Under the guidance of co-producer Lari White, Keith's voice is surprisingly delicate, particularly on Ain't No Right Way, a nuanced defense of "black and white" thinking that also serves as a career summary.

RHYMEFEST BLUE COLLAR This Chicago M.C. was a janitor, florist and McDonald's cashier before scoring as Kanye West's Jesus Walks co-writer, and his debut brings a touch of working-class humility to a genre desperate for it. On Brand New, Rhymefest and West trade verses, with West rapping about his consumer lust while 'fest advises, "Skip the brand name/ I won't brand you," and he admits that West, who produced, "hook[s] me up as long as I don't ask him for too much." These Days interrupts two verses about the monotony of everyday life with one about the competition: "I kinda like Eminem, he be funny and dissin'/ I bought his record, it's a one time listen." Rhymefest is funny too, and his debut is definitely more than a one-time listen.

AFI DECEMBERUNDERGROUND Now that this once tiny hard-core band is a chart topper, you'd think AFI would be a little less miserable. It isn't, and its fans (the adorably named Despair Faction) love the group for it. But no matter, since AFI's relentless verbal gloom is trumped by huge glittering hooks. Miss Murder swaggers by with such confidence that if you block out the lyrics ("Miss Murder can I/ Make beauty stay if I/ Take my life?"), you might convince yourself that lead singer Davey Havok sounds a little happy. But good luck convincing the Despair Faction.