Third Eye Blind's second album will go a long way in helping the San Francisco-based band to shed their corporate-rock label. Less grandiose and obvious than their 1997 debut, the elegantly flawed Blue crackles with energy and dark humor, but doesn't wade in the same pools of gloom and despair as its self-titled predecessor. Frontman Stephan Jenkins has exchanged his intricate stream-of-consciousness musings for more streamlined soulful wordplay. The assertive, inventive guitars recall such big bruisers of yesteryear as Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, but without the heavy-handedness. "Never Let You Go," the album's standout, is as catchy as Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl," but with a raw edge and a snarling Jaggeresque rap by Jenkins. Smart, poppy, and ironic, Blue more than solidifies Third Eye Blind's standing as a band on the rise. --Jaan Uhelszki