Living Colour: Corey Glover, Vernon Reid (vocals, guitar); Muzz Skillings (vocals, bass); William Calhoun (vocals, drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Derin Young (vocals); Don Byron (clarinet, saxophone); Maceo Parker (saxophone); Annette Daniels, D.K. Dyson, Rosa Russ, Toshi Kubota, Yubie Navas, Alva Rogers, Francine Stasium (background vocals); Queen Latifah, Little Richard, Mick Jagger, Doug E. Fresh. Black Swan String Quartet: Akbar Ali, Charles Burnham, Eileen Folsom, Reggie Workman. Engineers include: Paul Hamingson, John Aguto, Ed Goodreau. Living Colour's second album keeps up the tradition of Vernon Reid's blazing, Hendrix-worthy guitar playing and Corey Glover's scorching vocals; the band's politics remain as unyielding as its hard rock is unflinching. TIME'S UP begins with a clock ticking behind a wall of noise, but the real bomb doesn't go off until about halfway through, when Living Colour declares that "Elvis Is Dead." "Elvis was a hero to most, but that's beside the point," Glover declares. "A black man taught him how to sing, and then he was crowned king." From other bands, that might sound like hot air, but Living Colour pumps out an articulate sort of hard-rock that suggests it can back up its claims and arguments. This is a versatile hard-rock band, too: "Type" is danceable commercial rock, and "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" is one of the genre's most funky ballads.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 08/21/2012