In Brief

*** Bad Religion, “No Substance,” Atlantic. The drab rut these punk vets fell into with 1996’s “The Gray Race” was apparently only a passing phase. Greg Graffin’s vocals remain tightly reined, but Brian Baker’s agile guitar adds color, dynamic grooves and texture, and genuine ripples of humor glimmer in a few tracks. Rather than undermine the heft of its music, loosening up has enabled BR to unleash a stronger batch of songs. Bad Religion headlines the Roxy on Monday.

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