Limp Bizkit Adds Some Depth to Its Hard-Hitting Attitude

*** LIMP BIZKIT

“Significant Other”

Flip/Interscope

Nuances haven’t been a big concern in Limp Bizkit’s rock, rap and rant world--until now. Not that the quintet takes any less pleasure in the hard-hitting aspects of the music on its second album; it simply tempers the sledgehammer attack with a few subtle moves that add some welcome depth to the songs.

Frontman Fred Durst conjures a startling array of moods as he explores various facets of the dysfunctional relationship that apparently inspired “Significant Other.” Working his way through bitterness, fury, spite, desolation and disillusionment, he not only delivers some of his strongest raps to date, but also sings convincingly. His bandmates likewise generate a surprisingly diverse palette of sounds.

“Rearranged” glides along a melodic bass line with an edgy melancholia reminiscent of Joy Division. In “Nookie,” guitarist Wes Borland surrounds Durst’s twisted anger with a vibrant blanket of noise--from crunching chords to eerie, pungent riffs. Several tracks (particularly “A Lesson Learned” and “Just Like This,” with its deep, bare-bones groove) are strikingly spare, relying on emotional substance more than musical swagger to make their point.

Limp Bizkit still packs plenty of stormy attitude, but it’s the dynamic range of the bluster that makes these tunes compelling.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.