CD REVIEWS

An occasional update of music releases

ROCK/POP. Freedy Johnston - This Perfect World (Elektra):. @CDText = This longtime critically acclaimed singer-songwriter makes his major-label debut with his third album. ``This Perfect World'' contains 12 finely crafted pop songs ringing with jangling guitars and melodies that lock into your head in a single listen. Butch Vig's production adds a needed gloss, the only drawback being Johnston's somewhat thin voice. Despite the pop shimmer, the songs are often dark meditations on loss and alienation, with a straightforwardness that seems absent from contemporary music. Johnston is relatively unknown, but this album should change that.