Prodigy

No more Chinese Democracy jokes -- the long promised follow-up to the Prodigy's 1997 breakthrough The Fat of the Land has finally landed. Sadly, though, the group's once-torrid attack has gone limp from sitting under the heat lamps for so long. Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned kicks off nicely enough with the shouting, hard-hitting "Spitfire," but from there Prodigy main man Liam Howlett tries to play catch-up with seven years of already-passé tropes such as vintage electro, big beat, and garage rock. Vocalists Keith Flint and Maxim are gone, and they took the Prodigy's menace with them; meanwhile, guest vocalists such as Liam Gallagher, Twista, and actress Juliette Lewis rarely shock Howlett's stock compositions to life. Call it Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, Mostly Outdated.