High Speed Scene’s sound aims to grab teens

Editor’s Note: Sound Advice will now run the first Friday of every month. In it, a revolving stable of BDN writers will review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“The High Speed Scene” (Star Trak/Interscope) – The High Speed Scene

The guitar-friendly rock of The High Speed Scene will spark high school memories for twentysomething-and-up listeners, and may feel familiar to those suffering immediate adolescent angst. With songs such as “The IROC-Z Song” and “Hottie,” this L.A. trio explores subjects as identifiable as geek-cool guy conflict and lust for the prettiest girl.

The first track (“For the Kids”) on High Speed Scene’s debut album makes it crystal-clear that appealing to teens is exactly the band’s intent.

The band names The Kinks and the Beatles as inspiration, according to a biography, and the listener can hope High Speed Scene stays inspired. Although songs have good melodic form and fresh-enough, funny lyrics, High Speed Scene adheres close enough to the punk-rock formula to provide an album that sounds like the soundtrack of a hit summer teen movie.

Guitarist-singer Max Hart provides vocals surprisingly devoid of the yelps and outright screams that go hand in hand with his genre. Hart’s rich voice is one of the bright and curious spots on the self-titled CD. – Judy Long

“Lullabies To Paralyze” (Interscope) – Queens of the Stone Age

Josh Homme is literally the last man standing in Queens of the Stone Age – at least from the incarnation that cut 2002’s “Songs for the Deaf” – but he also seems to be standing deep in a hole. Sans Nick Olivieri, but now flanked by A Perfect Circle’s Troy Van Leeuwen and Danzig’s Joey Castillo, the band continues to hammer down plutonium-weight riffs, sewn through with twitchy melodies and anchored by ack-ack drumming.

Rock is in full effect on “Medication” – a hypnotic power-chord slash, artfully wrapped up in under two minutes; and recent single “Little Sister” is a sleazy, metronomic plea to be allowed to “come inside … show you all of my love.” But Homme has a creepy side too. “You Got A Killer Scene There Man” is enough to make you check the doors, with its heavy-lidded delivery and loose-limbed alley prowl.

Unlike The Darkness – who gave hair-and-spandex metal a new and kitschy life – Queens of the Stone Age has never had to rely on goofy nostalgia for its metal appeal. Ineffably cool, it conquers by crushing. Although Homme has a habit of jacking in bands at the first sign of boredom, for now he seems to be tempering that with the inclusion of guest Queens – no Dave Grohl this time, but Shirley Manson and Brody Dalle (natch) are among those making cameos. It’s all just enough to keep us interested as well. So while Homme continues to shovel his Queens deeper and deeper into their rock bunker, I’m disinclined to tell him to stop digging. – Adam Corrigan

“Guero” (Interscope) – Beck

The thing about hearing a new Beck album is that it takes at least three listens to get an idea of what’s really going on. On the first go-round of Beck’s latest effort,hash of “Odelay,” his 1996 masterpiece of junkyard hip-hop. The second time, it recalled the worldy eclecticism of 1998’s “Mutations.”

At this point, I thought Beck might have defied his reputation as a musical chameleon by trying to copy the sound of one of his previous albums. Was this the end of our endlessly versatile alt-rock hero? But on the third try, I realized it was typical Beck. Which is to say, not typical at all.

“Guero” finds Beck mining old territory. Sexed-up funk jams; gorgeous, world-weary folk; quirky hip-hop; his version of Brazilian tropicalia, and a hint of psychedelia. What makes “Guero” different is that all of these elements come together, along with the newfound maturity Beck displayed on his last album, “Sea Change.”

“E-Pro” starts off the album with a blast of fuzzy, Beastie Boys-esque hip-hop. “Girl” proves to be one of his sunniest, catchiest tracks ever – it’s more of a pop song than anything else. “Broken Drum” recalls his sad-sack folk singer persona, but “Hell Yes” is a welcome return to form, sounding like a missing track from “Odelay” with the robot-voice chorus and synths.

Overall, it sounds like everything Beck’s ever done. Perhaps he ran out of ideas, or perhaps he realized that it was his own back catalogue that was ripe for the picking. Beck’s music has always been a grab bag of genres, filtered through his own unique style. “Guero” is no different. – Emily Burnham

“Harmonium” (A&M) – Vanessa Carlton

Her 11-song follow-up to breakout smash “Be Not Nobody” isn’t as good as her debut CD, but neither does it lend itself to a sophomore slump label – a common result for many solo artists and bands alike.

The more you listen, the more “Harmonium” seems like an audio version of a journal the 24-year-old songstress has kept for several years. The lyrics are intriguing and the sound, which ranges from light and poppy (“White Houses”) to introspective and mournful (“Annie”) to uptempo and catchy (“Private Radio”).

The sound has changed slightly and that may be because of the influence of boyfriend and Third Eye Blind lead vocalist Stephan Jenkins, who produced the album and helped with writing and music. Another outside contribution comes from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, who played acoustic guitar on “White Houses.” Yes, Carlton and her music are maturing, but not so drastically that fans will be put off by the sound of “Harmonium,” which is well worth a listen. – Andrew Neff