***1/2 Prodigy

MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION

(Mute)

Harsh as it wants to be, this British foursome's CD rips like a knife-edge through the least comfortable zones of dance music. From the acid-house scratch work of "Break & Enter" and "Their Law" to the auto-race sound effects in "Full Throttle" and "Speedway" and soprano-octave trance songs like "No Good (Start the Dance)" and "One Love (the Narcotic Suite)," Prodigy's sounds scar the ear. Their hurts feel more melodic, perhaps, than Ministry, and they definitely cry less loudly than Trent Reznor, but if pain's your beat, you might want to listen.

-- Michael Freedberg