311 [ tickets ]'s latest release, "Evolver," sees the progressive rap-rock band from Omaha, Nebraska dropping familiar beats and riffs. Since making it big with '97's "Down" and "All Mixed Up," 311 have been rap-rock's very own little prog-rock outfit-that-could, fusing reggae, punk, rap and hard rock with the occasional acoustic ballad. Despite its title, "Evolver" is not much different from 311's previous albums.

The tracks on "Evolver" feature singer Nick Hexum trading mic duties with S.A. Martinez, as the band's rhythm-section pounds out heavy metal-tinged dub anthems or spacey ballads, detailed with twitchy sci-fi sounds. There is almost no middle ground.

Usually, Hexum's lyrics are sophomoric and cheesy. On "Seems Uncertain," he wonders of religion, "How can something well-guided/Turn out to be divisive?" And yet, despite the many ill-advised couplets, Hexum and 311 can still write a good hook, as they do on tracks like "Don't Dwell" or "2 Crack the Code," which sounds eerily similar to "All Mixed Up."

Identified by songs with oddball titles and off-the-wall song structures, prog-rock used to be the realm of bands like King Crimson, Yes, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Today, every rock and roll sub-genre has these bands. The hair-metal crowd bows to Dream Theater, while the alternative kids dig on Tool. 311 is rap-rock's prog-rock outfit. And compared to contemporaries like Crazytown or the Bloodhound Gang, 311 are geniuses. Unfortunately, that doesn't make "Evolver" any more genius than your average 311 album. For 311, it's time to really evolve.

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