In Brief

*** The Cardigans, “Gran Turismo,” Mercury. “This is where the sanity gives in and love begins,” singer Nina Persson sighs on the opening track, “Paralyzed,” which could pass as an electronic James Bond theme song (“[It’s] the sweetest way to die . . .”). The Swedish group, which plays the Troubadour on Monday, forsakes the saccharine pop and irony of its previous efforts throughout this third U.S. release, delivering a haunting, disturbing and more memorable piece of art.

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

Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: https://www.latimes.com/soundclips