Chevelle

he newest album Sci-Fi Crimes from Chicago based rock trio Chevelle may give their fan legions pause, but this is no UFO conspiracy trip. "As much as I love the Flaming Lips, we're not going off in that direction," laughs singer/guitarist Pete Loeffler. "If anything, this record represents a natural progression in the band's maturity and sound. We really wanted to take the time to write about some of our experiences and feelings since our last tour, both during and in the time afterwards."

In fact, the title Sci-Fi Crimes was inspired by some off-road adventures with one "friend," whom Pete describes as "this really off-the-wall character, who believes so whole-heartedly in aliens and UFOs that the subject just really piqued my interest." Having reconnected and re-energized, Pete soon found himself toying with ideas for songs. "Usually I'll come up with something on my own, and then bring it in to the guys and we'll work it out," he says. "A lot of rock bands out there use outside songwriters, but no one else writes our songs other than ourselves." Sci-Fi Crimes is the work of a band taking stock of itself after a strenuous decade of recording and touring ("Weird to think we're a 'veteran' band; I'm kind of shocked by how long we've been going," Pete muses).

Too often lumped into the "just another hard rock band" ghetto, Chevelle emerges with Sci-Fi Crimes as an admittedly heavy-sounding group whose wit and intelligence now stand fully revealed.