Fernando Viciconte originally released True Instigator two years back as a free download on his website. Viciconte thought it would be his final album, but R.E.M.'s Peter Buck took him aside at a show and offered to play on his next record. Thusly compelled out of retirement, Viciconte is now giving True Instigator a proper release, and a proper release show to go along with it. The album's a wide-ranging, crimson-hued rock record that begins with a cover of Hank Williams' "Angel of Death" and moves through a pageant of Fernando's pop, country, and Latin-tinged songwriting. What's more, Fernando and Buck have plans to record some new material this coming year. NED LANNAMANN