RECORD REVIEWS

'U.S.A. STILL UNITED'
Ying Yang Twins (TVT)
Grade: C
Crunk mavericks the Ying Yang Twins max out everything they do, so it's fitting that "U.S.A. Still United" drops just six months after the release of the rap duo's scorching "U.S.A. United State of Atlanta."
The new "U.S.A." is essentially a sequel to this past summer's "U.S.A.," though it's a less-focused jumble of rare tracks and remixes -- including some club bangers sure to make their way to strip-bars, where many Ying Yang songs play in heavy rotation.
At best, the Dirty South sound of the Atlanta-based act of D-Roc and Kaine (guided by producer Mr. Collipark) yields a frenzied atmosphere equivalent to an amped-up, hip-hop aural arcade. The most gleefully obnoxious moments include the catchphrase-heavy, jolting "Wiggle Then Move" (which somehow didn't make the cut for the first "U.S.A.") and an album-closing remix of "Shake" that explodes into a jock-rock free-for-all that makes the Black Eyed Peas sound like Norah Jones. Also, the cartoonish yowling and "The Pink Panther Theme"-playing horns on "The Pink" mark a rowdy high that helps offset "U.S.A.'s" clunkers.
"U.S.A. Still United," which includes a bonus DVD, is so confusing that some tracks aren't really even Ying Yang Twins songs. Most confounding of all is a remake of the 2005 hit "Wait (The Whisper Song)" that omits the song's explicit language, even though other cuts on "U.S.A. Still United" are unblinkingly raunchy. It doesn't make sense, but hey, it's the Ying Yang Twins.
--Chuck Campbell, Scripps Howard
'WITH LOVE AND SQUALOR'
We Are Scientists (Virgin)
Grade: B-
We Are Scientists has the chemistry to be the next great geek-rock band. The New York (by way of California) trio of scruffy, skinny guys blasts through the 13 hook-loaded tracks on its major-label debut, "With Love and Squalor," with charismatic impatience.
Singer/guitarist Keith Murray, bassist Chris Cain and drummer Michael Tapper are New Wave revivalists with playful allegiances to neo-punk and neo-glam-rock and a requisite knack for sounding more British than American.
The style is more feisty than fresh, but at this early stage in the group's exposure, these guys don't have to change the rock 'n' roll landscape, they just need to prove they've got their chops -- and "With Love and Squalor" does.
"If you want to use my body, go for it," declares Murray on buzzing opener "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt," his voice an artful quiver against the punkish rhythm of Cain and Tapper.
The sonic range isn't dramatic on "With Love and Squalor," with the runaway-locomotive drive of "Callbacks" and the melancholy flutter of "Textbook" serving as the extremes. Such limitations give the less fleshed-out cuts, which are weighted toward the end of the release, a feeling of filler-itis.
Nevertheless, there are four or five tracks here with breakout potential, and that's more than enough to make We Are Scientists dangerously contagious.
--Chuck Campbell, Scripps Howard
'20 YEARS AND CHANGE'
Collin Raye (Aspirion)
Grade: D-
Collin Raye was one of the most vanilla of country hitmakers in the '90s. His new album suggests the condition is terminal.
When he's delivering mewling ballads like "Forgotten" and "The Search Is Over," Raye's blandness is wretched enough. When he injects some rock, or tries to put over a barroom honky-tonker ("You're Not Drinkin' Enough"), it's almost laughable. And the finale, "It's Only Make Believe," doesn't come close to matching the grandeur of Conway Twitty's definitive version.
--Nick Christiano, Philadelphia Inquirer