Throw It to the Universe

The band insists this will be its final album. The Swedish rockers have always managed to shoehorn an incredibly dense selection of influences into their sound, and this "final" album further fulfills their promise with tunes that survey the entire history of rock 'n' roll. "You Are the Beginning" paraphrases a line from Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall" at its onset before occupying terrain shared with The Church and other groups that have balanced the differences between classic rock and alternative music. The deliberately raw "Busy Land" captures a garage band with debts to The Who and The Beach Boys. "If Nothing Lasts Forever" adds a soothing gloss that recalls the joy of '80s alternative bands that found their way to the dance floor. The acoustic minute-and-a-half track "Waiting for the Lawnmowers" introduces "Faster Than the Speed of Light," where the band turns in a performance as huge as arena rock, yet with its heart still intimately involved. If this is how the band bows out, then it's with the same inspiration and grace of its entire career.