**1/2 Geggy Tah

SACRED COW

(Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.)

Setting cheerful, super sing-along vocals over slick bass grooves and meandering instrumentals, Geggy Tah (apparently the name comes from some younger siblings' preverbal pronunciation of Greg and Tom) use both sound and lyric to etch an idealistic line between anxiety and optimism. These endearing tunes address everything from religion to love to an ecstatic barbecue in the year 2000. Although the record is saturated with sincerity, singer Tommy Jordan's high, swallowed vocals err on the side of cloying pollyanna-ism, which renders weak his attempts at aggression. Likewise, the spurts of polished jazz-inspired pop and insipid funk that underscore those moments should have been kept to a minimum. Songs like the monster radio hit "Whoever You Are" do bring the sort of exhilarating bliss found in the "Practice random acts of beauty and senseless kindness" philosophy to bear. And on the cuts where the band let forth with jamming playing and ambling, low-key psychedelia -- instead of derivative miming -- they make their point well.

-- Chesley Hicks