In Brief : <i> New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).</i>

** 1/2 Soho, “Thug,” Atco. The act is British, but after listening to this album you’ve got to believe the name was chosen for its American significance. SoHo--the district in New York and the sound herein--is arty, pulsating and always interesting, if occasionally too obvious in its quest for originality. The peace-love-and-understanding grounding of Soho’s previous album has been toned down somewhat, but the vocals of twin hippychicks Jacqueline and Pauline remain achingly sweet.