Music this week

Polydor

Rs. 495; rating: HHH

Towards the end of this sprawling,cluttered album,a male voice intones: “There is no longer a physical record store.” The Black Eyed Peas anticipate a future in which albums are fluid,download-only constructions that will be regularly supplemented by new mixes of every track. Yet new mixes of The E-N-D are the last thing we need: there is too much to absorb here already. Many of these electro-pop-rap tracks sound as though they were recorded with DJs in mind,rather than fans. Songs stop and start; Fergie’s voice,as bombastic as Mariah Carey’s,fades in and out; the male Peas drop raps apparently at random. As on their recent No 1 single,Boom Boom Pow,electronic clicks and buzzes are used lavishly,and the mood is as positive as ever. Just don’t expect to love it immediately.