The Headless Chickens have always flown ahead of the flock. A self-titled mini-album and then the much-loved Stunt Clown exposed Chris Matthews' fabled 'abused technology' roots. The platinum-selling classic Body Blow extended the group's musical palate, its hit singles running from the juddering ride of "Gaskrankenstation" to the smooth "Juice" and "Cruise Control".

Greedy is yet another kind of beast; Chris Matthews' guitar and voice are at the forefront and the mood is altogether more rocking. Greedy's a dramatic album, with its songs wrapped in a blend of scary samples, crunching loops and lyrical nightmares. The end result is what the Headless Chickens have always managed to achieve on record: in today's electrode-up post-grunge world, Greedy still blurs the lines people want to put up around musical styles and -- crooning, sneering, yelling through a megaphone -- Chris Matthews still sounds like the most convincing frontman around. Fiona McDonald's all but gone; she left the band after recording the hit single "George" and that song is her only lead vocal on this album, although she sings one duet ("Chicken Little") and contributes backing vocals to a few other tunes.

The third album to emerge from Camp Chicken has to meet big expectations from fans practically existing on birdseed for the past year or more. Putting the Headless Chickens back on track after a spate of line-up changes has consumed much of 1997 but Chris Matthews' confidence is now buoyed by a new band line-up around him and the release of Greedy.

Bassist Bevan Larsen joined the Chickens last year and wrote a number of the songs here, including the single "Magnet", with Matthews. New sampler guru Flex and drummer Gerard Presland were recruited at the tail-end of the recording project (all drums on the album are played by Bevan Sweeney). The album was completed last month in Auckland with engineer/producer Nick Roughan at the controls.

"Dark Angel" drops in to open Greedy with a moody hook and it's followed by another dark tale (you get plenty on Greedy!) in the form of "Stalk of A Cherry". Sandwiched between the powerhouse "Secondtime Virgin" and recent single "Magnet", is the stripped-back chill of "Cipher". "Fire", a live Chickens staple for the past 3 years, and "Electricity" keep the oppressive mood in place until "Chicken Little". Here Chris and Fiona McDonald cement their place as the anti-Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers by dueting their way through a love song that hits the point with "If we were insects/Maybe you'd fuck me/and eat me, baby/then I'd be with you/in everything you do"!

At track nine, the demented horn samples of "Smoking Big Ted" kick Greedy into its most full-on section. Techno-paced "Black Water Rising" and the dirty throb of "Escalator" keep the temperature at extreme through a trio that seem destined for live favourite status once the Chickens take this album out on the road next month. The megaphone rant of "Day Of The Locust" settles things back to medium-hot before the album closes with its final highlight, "George".

And when the band's New Zealand no.1 single sits comfortably at the end, Greedy makes its final case for evolution. The Headless Chickens still rule the roost.