The buzz on music

The buzz on music
SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE
The stuff you really gotta see, hear and read right this sec.
COURTNEY LOVE
"America's Sweetheart"
In stores now.
We've been psyched for C-Love's solo album since her raucous days in Hole, and this album doesn't disappoint. Courtney's the same box of vocal and emotional fireworks, just more world-weary. With help from songwriter Linda Perry, she thrashes over a cheating guy in "Julie" and watches naive L.A. newcomers get sucked in by sex and money in the excellent power ballad "Sunset Strip." Don't expect the glossy sound of "Celebrity Skin" -- she claws and screams the way a proper rock queen should.
Did you hear that ... After OD'ing on painkillers last fall, C-Love got in a custody battle with Kurt Cobain's mother for custody of her daughter, Frances Bean. They even came to blows with each other once at a courtroom hearing.
THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE
"Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Loose"
Feb. 24
With this beautifully raw sophomore album, the UK band shows that rage and depression can be fascinating. There are a couple of just OK mope-rock tracks, but other haunting orchestrations & agrave; la Radiohead and razor-sharp electronic edges (think Nine Inch Nails) give it eerie staying power.
ZERO 7
"When It Falls"
March 9
This cool English soul collective (one of Justin Timberlake's favorite groups) braids lush imagery and dreamy, ambient beats together on a solid follow-up to their 2001 debut. New addition Tina Dico isn't quite as mysterious a vocalist as Sia Furler, but Sia is still around, charming with her scorching delivery on "Somersault." It's a perfect soundtrack for a rainy day.
HANSON
"Underneath"
March 9
These now-mature brothers (Zac is finally 18, and Taylor is a dad!) have ditched the poppy beats for what they call "reckless abandon" guitar rock. "This album is the most intimate and vulnerable one we've done," says Isaac, 23, of the band's self-produced album. Though it's laced with pensive lyrics, the Hansons unleash their vibrant harmony to lighten the mood, like on "Dancing in the Wind," a "no-holds-barred, joyous rock tune."
USHER
"Confessions"
March 16
Working with the Neptunes, Kelis, Ludacris and Lil Jon, Usher has crafted the ultimate sonic aphrodisiac. It's a hot brew of seductive ballads and booty-shakers that's more grown up than past albums, but just as playful.
XFor more reviews, check out the latest issue of Seventeen or visit the magazine's Web site at www.seventeen.com.