*** (out of 4 stars)
OK, let's try to ignore the 12-page merchandise booklet that spills out when you open the "Crash" CD booklet. We're not here to critique shameless promotion, and this retailing thing has been important to Dave Matthews Band since the grassroots days.
And let's try not to equate the band's music with its sales obsession, because it's too easy to say the group treats music like another commodity.
It doesn't. At least not really. "Crash." the follow-up to the triple-platinum "Under the Table and Dreaming." is almost as agile and addictive to that breakthrough album. Sure, DMB's got its problems - who else can sound so funky without sounding sexy, so worlbeat without being exotic? - but in the end, the quirky instrumentation and tight grooves proove too alluring to resist.
Maybe it's Carter Beauford's snazzy percussion, maybe Stefan Lessard's think honey bass runs, maybe even Matthews' funny nasal vocals. Bottom line, though: DMB knows how to cut a groove - and is nice enough to tack sing-along melodies on top. You won't find anything here as infectious as "Ants Marching," but the pop jams bounce enough that you can bet "Crash" will become a summer road-trip staple. Top cuts include mid-tempo opener "So Much To Say," snaky leadoff single "Too much" and jungle-fiddle-drenched "Tripping Billies."
DMB loses its edge when it goes cosmic, and a series of exploratory soft jazz pieces almost kill the disc towards the end. But when things are thumping, it's hard not to appreciate the band's versatile rhythms and ear for texture. And you don't even have to send off for one of those goofy T-shirts.