If you sense a slight incongruity in the title of Blame Sally's Speeding Ticket and a Valentine, rest assured that it's as purposeful as the life it describes is random. The album lifts its name from a line in the bridge of the hard- charging leadoff single, "Living Without You," which describes a day-or maybe entire existence-that's "sweet and sour at the same time/mink and a porcupine/speeding ticket and a valentine." Clearly, this is a band that knows its oxymorons.

The four women who... more