In Brief

* * 1/2 Living Colour, “Stain,” Columbia. On its make-or-break third album, the New York quartet focuses its sound into a sharper hard-rock attack while still leaving room for guitarist Vernon Reid to display his distinctive skills. What breaks are the songs, burdened with uninvolving melodies and mundane lyrics. Living Colour has always presented itself as a smart, savvy band with legitimate talent and intellect, but little here meets the expectations raised by that image.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).