Melissa Auf der Maur

Melissa Auf der Maur Out of Our Minds (Phi Group)

Green Day aside, concept albums can signal an artistic self-obsession. Add prog rock to the mix and, unless you're a Rush fan, your heart is likely to sink. But not in the case of the effortlessly cool Melissa Auf der Maur. She calls Out of Our Minds her '21st century concept album'. It's a multimedia project that combines album, short film, comic and web presence.

The musicianship from Auf der Maur, a Canadian bassist who formerly played for Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, is clear and raises the album's shakier moments. Full of ocean imagery and inspired by Viking lore, the outstanding track is her one duet, Father's Grave with heavy metal/goth rocker Glenn Danzig, but there is also the howling of The Hunt and The One, poppy enough rock to have a catchy sing-along chorus.