In Brief

* * * The Cranes, “Wings of Joy,” Dedicated/RCA. The English quartet’s lineup reads like your basic two-guitars-bass-and-drums band. But this debut album shares an aesthetic--if not exotic--hypnotic aura with the Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance, with Alison Shaw’s breathy, babyish voice and chamber-music-like tones creating alternately smooth and harsh soundscapes.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).