Listen Up: Ms. Led

MS. LED

"Shake Yourself Awake" (Fish the Cat)

"Do we dance or do we riot?" is the question that seems to drive the new album from Seattle's Ms. Led. At the center of the band is Lesli Wood, a spunky singer with a keen ability to howl, growl or snarl -- and just as easily lure listeners to the bedroom, occasionally in the same song. Her dexterity is matched only by her capacity to turn a phrase, which tend to be straightforward, politically charged and largely feminist pangs that would be didactic in the hands of a lesser wordsmith.

Yet Wood delivers these barbs without being preachy. To the contrary, her passion is absolutely contagious. This is helped by guitarist Peg Wood -- no relation -- whose voluminous hooks, effects and weighty playing style are hair-raising. Occasionally, her speed and/or grandness can lead to a delightfully nonplussed state, as it does during "Have It All."

With powers such as this, the young riot grrl (who is also a practicing attorney) could easily rally listeners behind any cause de jour. Luckily, the ideology Lesli Wood champions is one that promotes equality and empowerment, like on " I Said Jump, Damnit!" ("Don't play dead, fight the urge to stand still for a little while/ Complacency's too easy, try to see, consider").

Some of the CD's finest moments, however, are also its most personal. "Fools," a gorgeous, complicated swan song, which closes out the record, appears to be about relationships. But when you listen closer, it's about inevitability, or in Lesli Wood's case, her fight with multiple sclerosis.

It's not all Wood's show, however. As with their last album, 2004's "These Things We Say" all four members contributed to the songwriting process. The effect is a noticeable cohesion that elevates Ms. Led from a pet project to a formidable band.

DOWNLOAD: "I Said Jump, Damnit!"

-- Shawn Telford

Ms. Led plays live on the "John in the Morning" show at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W. $6. 21+