Third Eye Blind Blue (Elektra)

Since they doo-doo-dooed their way to the top of the charts two years ago with their hit song "Semi-Charmed Life," Third Eye Blind has been a band you either loved or loved-to-hate, and you shouldn't expect Blue to change your mind. Like the last album's angsty-pop singles, Blue's best tracks are irresistible for precisely the reasons that the band's detractors slag on them -- they're too polished, too predictable. Sounds like a winning pop formula, though, doesn't it? Stephan Jenkins' voice may be unnuanced and soulless, but it is the perfect vehicle for the kind of simple vocal melodies that would be terribly boring if they weren't so damned catchy. When they're not sounding prettier and more lush (as on "Wounded"), the band gets ballsier than usual; midway through the record, they hit you with a series of louder, more bombastic songs -- by Third Eye Blind standards, that is. And Blue's lead single, "Anything," is a great song by any standard, sounding like something the Foo Fighters would have made if they hadn't wussed out on their latest effort. (JENNY ELISCU)