Like a hand coming out of the shadows in a horror movie, Love and Rockets' new release catches you off guard; it's their most cohesive album in 10 years. Continuing the foray into electronica that the boys made with their last release (the dreadful Sweet F.A.) and mostly abandoning the echo-laden sound of previous efforts, Lift thrives on fidgeting synthesizers and "riddle me this" electronic percussion. Die-hard fans of L&R's earlier incarnation as three-fourths of Bauhaus will be thrilled that Peter Murphy cowrote "Resurrection Hex," one of the stronger cuts on Lift. A collaboration with Luscious Jackson on "Holy Fool" bubbles under the wicked seediness of Daniel Ash's vocals. Positively wonderful! Make no mistake, they still cast a good gloomy ballad in classic L&R form on "Too Much Choice," but for the most part Lift boasts a new sense of dynamics that you didn't think they had in them. --Jason Josephes