WORKING ON A DREAM

**1/2

Bruce Springsteen

For "Working On A Dream," Bruce Springsteen whistles, sings the blues, plays the glockenspiel and drops an f-bomb, as if desperate to disguise the album's lyrical deficiencies.

Springsteen says he wrote these songs quickly, and it shows. The rich characters who populate his best work are largely missing, and instead he rocks out to simple sentiments built on first- and second-person pronouns. "With you I have been blessed," he sings. And, "You're my lucky day." And, "Let me show you what love can do."

"Surprise, Surprise" ranks among the lamest songs Springsteen ever released, thanks in part to this observation: "When the sun comes out tomorrow, it'll be the start of a brand new day."

While too many lines ring hollow, and the E-Street Band arrangements tend toward a "Hungry Heart"-style sameness, the Boss does at least crank out the kind of fetching melodies that filled his last album, "Magic." Some of the biggest hooks save the bizarre "Queen Of The Supermarket," which finds our hero stalking a woman (girl?) at the checkout counter to accompaniment worthy of Meat Loaf. It's bloated, dumb and creepy - quality rock 'n' roll, in other words.

The strongest candidate for Springsteen's Super Bowl playlist is "My Lucky Day," which rides a groove carved out by Garry Tallent's niftiest bass line ever. Even better are the encores, always a Springsteen strength. He pulls out his acoustic guitar for the final two cuts: "The Last Carnival" pays eloquent tribute to his band's late keyboardist, Danny Federici, and "The Wrestler" is a heart-tugging ballad from the Mickey Rourke movie.

Steven Wine

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION

Animal Collective

***1/2

What makes Animal Collective so thrilling is the risk.

Over the past eight albums, the Brooklyn via Baltimore group was liable to try almost anything.

On "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (Domino), the risks are much more calculated - with a higher percentage of Beach Boys harmonies and chugging rhythms than in the past.

"Summertime Clothes" bounces playfully between '60s pop and '70s Kraftwerk. "Brothersport" is part Afro-pop, part electro-swirl, while "My Girls" comes close to a house remix of "Pet Sounds."

Sometimes their ideas sound better than the actual songs, but mostly "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is a grand payoff for all that risk.

Glenn Gamboa