Spring Album Roundup: From Naughty and Nice Rap to Willie Country

P.M. DAWN

“The Bliss Album (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence)”

Gee Street/Island

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One of the best singles of 1991 was this duo’s dreamy little concoction “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss.” Brothers Attrell and Jarett Cordes weren’t brothers from another planet--they’re from New Jersey, actually--but their otherworldly sound could have fooled you into making that assumption.

P.M. Dawn’s rap-laced music seems designed to wow critics into trotting out adjectives like eclectic and visionary. While this album never delves deeply into any weighty matters it does contain several small wonders, not the least of which is an eclectic ( that word again) version of the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.”

In the still largely testosterone-driven world of rap, P.M. Dawn is something of an anomaly. The group’s best tracks reveal a gentle, emotional-guy sensitivity, from “I Die Without You” to “More Than Likely,” on which Boy George contributes vocals.

Give P.M. Dawn some credit for setting the stage for Arrested Development and Digable Planets, noteworthy groups cut from similar cloth. In time, P.M. Dawn’s own spacey charm may seem gimmicky and grandiose. Today, though, it looks like one of the best ideas in black pop.