Hip-hop and girlie, teen-idol actresses turned singers have created some decent beats to get you freaky. But where are the kick-butt guitar rifts and painful lyric matter these days? When MTV takes time out of its "The Real World" marathons to actually play music videos, Lindsay Lohan and Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz will be in your face bitching about rumors and getting low from the window to the wall.

But alas, there is hope.

The Music released its sophomore album "Welcome to the North" on Oct. 19, and it rocks - hard. Lead singer Robert Harvey sings lyrics that make you cry, but this make-you-want-to-take-a-shot-of-whiskey music fits with the cheesy song titles such as "Freedom Fighters," "One Way In, No Way Out" and "Open Your Mind."

Harvey, honest-to-God, sounds just like Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. His mysterious voice can keep up with the roaring guitar and fast-paced cymbal bashing on my favorite track "Cessation."

He sings, "And I live in pain/And I love the darkness of my mind/Cos it makes me feel/You know it makes me feel like I'm alive." This song sets the tone for some serious rockin' out.

The last track on the album, "Open Your Mind," is not as hard-core as the other songs. Harvey belts out "Open your mind/Maybe it's time" over and over again, and it's slightly on the boring side; but wait, there's more. Two minutes after "Open Your Mind" ends, a slow guitar melody plays, then drums and bass chime in until the three instruments combine into a dark, high-energy jam session. There are no words in this hidden track, but the song's anger is expressed through amazing guitar rifts.

These young British lads came out with their self-titled first CD when they were barely 18-year-olds in 2002, which peaked on Billboard's "Heatseekers" chart at No. 4. On this album, The Music worked with mega-producer Brendan O'Brien to top the charts again.

The Music needs to be played at outrageous decibels and when you're in the mood to feel like a badass who smokes Lucky Strikes and plays a mean air guitar.