Deftones

Ten bucks to anyone who can explain how the Deftones continue to produce good music years after most of their nü-metal contemporaries devolved into shameless parodies of themselves. On their latest effort, Saturday Night Wrist, Chino Moreno and company sound every bit as vital as they did more than a decade ago. The reason: multidimensionality. Their songs caress, bludgeon, and unnerve in equal measure. From the spectral slow burn of such tracks as "Beware" and "Cherry Waves" to the jarring, vein-popping verve of "Rapture" and "Rats! Rats! Rats!" (which summons the act's trademark truculence) to the humid electro come-on of "Pink Cellphone," Wrist is a cohesive compendium of the different textures the Deftones have explored over the years. Moreno may not have progressed much as a lyricist; he's still a bit esoteric. But otherwise, the band has aged well. This Wrist is far from Limp.