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Deftones Around the Fur Maverick Few bands are as capable of conveying tangible energy and intense emotion--both live and on record--as Rage Against the Machine and Korn. The Deftones are in that league. Contrary to recent speculation, the Deftones haven't changed much, and their new album does not disappoint. It has a sense of clarity that Adrenaline didn't, and the provocative street-poet verses aren't obscured by the music. Vocalist Chino belts out songs with raw, throat-ripping vigor, and the band rocks harder than ever. With harsh, aggressive songs such as "Around the Fur," "Lotion" and the more melodic "Mascara" and "Dai the Flu," the Deftones pull together painful slices of lives that fans can relate to. (Sarah Quelland) Sherri Jackson Sherri Jackson Hybrid Singer and string instrumentalist Sherri Jackson is Alanis Morissette injected with melanin--well, not exactly, but on Sherri Jackson, the neo-folkie's breathy vocals do recall the Canadian's throaty style. Jackson's lyrics, however, are a little more literate. "Ain't That Good" reads like a finely wrought novel; the lines "Two detectives walk down the pathway; another one waits in the car / Hide those boxes and shred those papers and sit and stay where you are" evoke post-Irangate paranoia. Musically, the tune careens from a delicate folk lope to rockier terrain without losing its balance. Jackson's debut defies hoary stereotypes. Like soulmates Joan Armatrading and Tracy Chapman, she sounds more like a sister raised in Bel Air than in the Bronx--good diction, as Malcolm X would put it. (Nicky Baxter) [ Metro | Metroactive Central | Archives ]