Valence Street

On Valence Street, the brothers offer few surprises: the groove is mighty, while the choice of material weakens the disc's overall impact. "If I Had a Hammer" is hardly as indelible a social statement as their chilling version of Bob Dylan's "With God on Our Side" was on Yellow Moon, while too many of the new songs rely on tired romantic clichés. Everything falls together on a few tracks, particularly Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day" and "Mona Lisa," a collaboration with Wyclef Jean that originally appeared on his Carnival album. The ghostly funk of "Tears" and "The Dealer" also shows them at their best, suggesting that more fire and brimstone and less "Little Piece of Heaven" is the way to go. --Rickey Wright