Friday, September 29, 2006; WE06

CURSIVE"Happy Hollow"Saddle CreekTHE THERMALS"The Body, the Blood, the Machine"Sub Pop

THE FRESH MUSICAL ELEMENTS of "Happy Hollow," Cursive's latest stylistic shift, include boogie rhythms, jazzy horns and gospel vocalese. The latter is a cliche of unearthing-your-roots rock, but it's hard to argue that gospel doesn't suit this robust, heartfelt album. With such song titles as "Bad Sects" and "Hymns for the Heathen," the Omaha quartet is taking its post-emo music to church (and back out again). Even "Big Bang," a song whose title could refer to rock 'n' roll or good sex, keeps one foot in the pulpit: "There was this big bang once / But the clergyman doesn't agree."

Cursive was originally known for frontman Tim Kasher's scream. Later, the band made albums that emphasized the organ and the cello. More traditional rock instruments dominate this disc, but there are lots of supplementary timbres, and some passages in which all the sounds pile up chaotically. If these moments express Kasher's existential confusion, most of the time his message is clear -- and clearly articulated: "We simply exist," announces the "Opening the Hymnal/Babies," while "Retreat!" is nothing less than a rebuke to a supreme being who has "been away on holiday." That's a hefty topic, but "Happy Hollow" certainly sounds large enough to address it.

Religion isn't usually a major topic in indie rock, but Cursive is touring with another band that also has been thinking about the subject, the Thermals.

The Oregon band's "The Body, the Blood, the Machine" opens with "Here's Your Future," an updated telling of the story of Noah, and proceeds with such numbers as "A Pillar of Salt" and "Returning to the Fold."

Singer-guitarist Hutch Harris and drummer-bassist Kathy Foster, who wrote these songs, seem more concerned with politics than theology, offering a nightmare vision of Christian-right rule.

Musically, the Thermals are much simpler than Cursive, with a barely embroidered punky rock sound. But producer Brendan Canty achieves a crisp, full sound that upstages the group's two previous albums. If the future does become as oppressive as Harris and Foster fear, the Thermals sound as if they have the power to fight back.

-- Mark Jenkins

Appearing Tuesday at the 9:30 club with Detachment Kit.