BY JOHN M. JAMES

My pick of the week is worth searching for in the import bins, lest no American label grabs the hypnotic Trip-Jazz masterpiece by the Broadway Project, entitled The Vessel. Out on Tuesday, comparisons to the mournful cry of Portishead are inevitable, but this new release on the cool Memphis Industries UK imprint swirls and radiates in larger, 360-degree atmospheres, lost in vocalist Richard Palmer's cracked falsetto. The cinematic experience tinkles and taunts layers of classical surges, a la Tom Waits, washing in waves that recall candle smoke, old photographs, British film scores from the 1970s, Durrutti Column and the Cocteau Twins' soft flutterings to heaven. Highly recommended for crawling in or out of heartbreak. ... Next week sees the release of a four-LP, vinyl-only reissue of Sonic Youth's Dirty album from 1992. This new deluxe edition features the original double album expanded by 24 bonus tracks from the era -- B-sides, outtakes and rehearsal demos -- a few more than Geffen Record's recent expanded CD reissue. Two more classic Sonic Youth albums are scheduled this year for Geffen's deluxe reissue treatment, 1988's Daydream Nation and 1990's Goo. ... Strap yourself in for a visual time warp back to the Alternative music scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s on Tuesday, when Music Distributors releases 12 O'clock High: Complete Sessions, a collection of videos worth noticing. Reading like a who's-who of a slacker art student generation, the 28-clip DVD is rich with rare gems like The Flaming Lips' "Unconsciously Screaming" and "Redneck School of Technology," The Afghan Whigs' "You My Flower," Bad Brains' "Soul Craft" and Babes in Toyland's "He's My Thing." Other significant artists are peppered about, from Pussy Galore and Crime & the City Solution to Live Skull and Thin White Rope. ... Also in DVD news is the announcement of Eagle Vision's release next month of a track-by-track, behind-the-scenes exploration of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Like Pavlov's dog at the opening tones of the 1973 classic, I'm hungry to absorb what this DVD offers. Highlights include exclusive interviews with all four members of the band, album engineer Alan Parsons' tour through the multi-track master tapes, Roger Waters' acoustic version of "Brain Damage," David Gilmour's acoustic take and player's technique discussion of "Breathe" and Richard Wright's piano run at "Us and Them."

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Jeff Beck on Thursday and Alison Krauss on Friday. The Late Show with David Letterman features O.A.R. on Thursday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien hosts The Coral on Wednesday, Ted Nugent on Thursday, The Datsuns on Monday and The Jayhawks on Tuesday. The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn welcomes Heart on Thursday and Jack Johnson on Tuesday. And Last Call with Carson Daly gives it up for Cave-In on Thursday, Ben Harper and Jack Johnson on Friday, Longwave on Monday and Paloalto on Tuesday.

New Releases Coming Tuesday
and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change ...

311 ­ Evolver (Volcano/Jive); Terence Blanchard ­ Bounce (Blue Note) featuring a cover of Wayne Shorter's "Footsteps" and Ivan Lins' "Nocturna"; Blaque ­ Torch (Elektra); Cam'ron ­ Purple Haze (Roc-a-Fella); Todd Deatherage ­ Dream Upon a Fallen Star (Summer Break) with guest vocalist Rhett Miller of the Old 97s; Freddy Vs. Jason ­ original motion picture soundtrack (Roadrunner) with new music from Slipknot and a teaming of Mike Patton with Sepultura; Holly Golightly ­ Truly She Is None Other (Damaged Goods); Guided by Voices ­ "My Kind of Soldier" (Fading Captain) new 7-inch single, limited to 1,000 copies; The Hyperions ­ Under My Sombrero (Surprise Truck) with guest D.J. Bonebrake of X and a cool cover of the Rolling Stones "Paint It Black"; I.R.A.T.E. -- Infinite Rebellion Against The Establishment (Direct Music) brutal Southern California Metal; James Kirk ­ You Can Make It If You Boogie (Marina) new from the Orange Juice founder; Kraftwerk ­ Tour De France 2003 (Astralwerks); Michael Franti and Spearhead ­ Everyone Deserves Music (iMUSIC) new deep lyrical food for thought from The Beatnigs and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy founder; The New Amsterdams ­ Worse for the Wear (Vagrant); The New Christs ­ We Got This! (Smog Veil) spinning strobe light distortion featuring Rob Younger of Radio Birdman; Over My Dead Body ­ Sink or Swim (Indecision) new from former members of Built To Last and Unbroken; Andy Partridge ­ Fuzzy Warbles Volumes 3 and 4 (Ape) two new CDs in the series of demo archives from the XTC founder; Robert Randolph & the Family Band ­ Unclassified (Warner Bros.); Razed In Black ­ Damaged (Cleopatra) Darkwave weaving Techno and Industrial, featuring a bonus disc of remixes and CDR videos; Rachael Sage ­ Public Record (MPress Records); Smash Mouth ­ Get the Picture (Interscope) featuring guest Ranking Roger of The English Beat; State Property ­ Presents the Chain Gang Vol. II (Roc-a-Fella); Stripsearch ­ Stripsearch (Magna Carta) new from Josh Freese of The Vandals and A Perfect Circle; Ted Benson ­ Benson Burner (Jetset); Toots and the Maytals ­ World Is Turning (D&F; Records); The Derek Trucks Band ­ Soul Serenade (Columbia); Various Artists ­ Bad Scene, Everybody's Fault: A Tribute to Jawbreaker (Dying Wish); Various Artists ­ Salute This Vol. 1 (Slash/BiggMassive); Ween ­ Quebec (Sanctuary); Luther Wright and the Wrongs ­ Guitar Pickin' Martyrs (Back Porch); Ying Yang Twins ­ Me & My Brother (TVT).

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