• HIP-HOP

MOS DEF

The Ecstatic

Downtown

*** ½

It may seem like ages ago, but Mos Def was once known for his music. As one of the faces of the now-defunct Rawkus records, Mos helped bring underground, socially conscious hip-hop to the spotlight at the peak of mainstream excessiveness and flashiness. But while he focused on his acting career in the 2000s, the music suffered with two sloppy, meandering albums that left much to be desired (including album artwork and a booklet in the case of the bare-bones 2006 release, True Magic).

Enter The Ecstatic, 45 minutes of focused, concise narratives with just the right touch of quirkiness and a sense of discovery not heard from Mos since the late '90s. ''Believe me when I tell you, I never meant to break your heart,'' he sings, seemingly to frustrated fans, on the vibraphone-heavy Pistola. And with that, Mos embarks on a ``. . . brand new start.''

No song better captures Mos Def's return to form than History. Over a backdrop of chipmunk soul courtesy of the late J. Dilla, He raps alongside his Black Star partner-in-rhyme, Talib Kweli.

The Ecstatic doesn't shy from politics either. Workers Comp addresses the ever-increasing unemployment rates, while surprise guest Slick Rick (credited as The Ruler) delivers a verse from the point of view of an unwelcome soldier in Iraq on Auditorium, a moody concoction of Middle Eastern melodies and sweeping strings.

Mos is at his loosest on the jam-session-like Casa Bey, a reimagining of a classic Brazilian samba-funk song, and No Hay Nada Mas, a minimalist tribute to the most important things in his life, sung in Spanish.

But the much-too-short Priority is the highlight of the album: ''Peace before everything, God before anything, love before anything, real before everything,'' he sings to a hypnotic piano loop punctuated by trumpets and never-ending tambourines. And with that, we return to knowing Mos Def for his music.

-- ADRIAN RUHI

aruhi@MiamiHerald.com

• ALTERNATIVE

SONIC YOUTH

The Eternal

Matador

*** ½

Sonic Youth roll out some of their wildest experiments in years on The Eternal, throwing sharp-elbowed guitar solos, a tribute to Beat Generation poet Gregory Corso and playful Kim Gordon vocals into their usual mix of layered Lee Ranaldo guitars and Thurston Moore's deadpan delivery.

The sly Poison Arrow and crazed Calming the Snake are great, but the wildest moment -- and most successful -- comes with Anti-Orgasm, an epic, six-minute rant that uses Orwellian doublespeak to argue that being against war and religion is like being against sex.

-- GLENN GAMBOA

Newsday

THE BLACK EYED PEAS

The E.N.D

Interscope

** ½

The members of The Black Eyed Peas have worn many hats in the last 11 years: They've managed to work their way from backpacking b-boys in the pre-Fergie era to Kumbaya-singing war protesters, to unflinching, unabashed pop stars. The group has successfully managed to create an image that is equal parts early De La Soul and Backstreet Boys.

So in what form do they show up on their fifth studio album? For better or worse, The E.N.D (short for ''The Energy Never Dies'') is more My Humps than Joints & Jam -- a nonstop run of high-energy, low substance electro-pop that will surely dominate the dance floor, but won't enlighten many listeners.

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