In Brief

Simple Minds, “Good News From the Next World,” Virgin (**). The Scottish band writes lovely songs, but here again they are smothered by booming production and the hyper-drama of Jim Kerr’s singing. Producer Keith Forsey, who crafted the No. 1 “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” has reunited with the group (which plays the Mayan on Monday), but the subtlety of that seductive number is nowhere in evidence.

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