May 5-11, 2005

musicpicks

The Wonder Stuff

Rock/pop

A month or so ago, www.thewonderstuff.com featured a sound thrashing of the band's reconfiguration, courtesy of its two ousted Martins, Bell and Gilks. But now that URL just gets you the official Wonder Stuff Web site, so does www.thewonderstuff.co.uk, and just to be safe, www.thewonderstuff.net. Oy. This alt-reunion stuff isn't as easy as it looks, I guess. Nevertheless, singer Miles Hunt and guitarist Malc Treece have dauntingly continued The Wonder Stuff brand with new members and a new album, Escape from Rubbish Island (Independent). As the title indicates, here's one British band disinclined to regard their native land with even the most cursory of affections. Escape lacks the wide-screen jangle of the band's original work. But Hunt's vocals retain their sneering but anthemlike quality, like a cross between Joe Jackson and Bono. And there's at least one worthy pop moment, a disillusioned love song called "Another Comic Tragedy," that can stand proud next to the likes of their '91 U.S. college-radio hit, "The Size of a Cow." God be with you, though, if you get to that tin whistle solo at the end of the disc.

Sat., May 7, 9 p.m., $15, with As Fast As, Army of Me and The Jealous Type, North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 215-684-0808.

—Michael Pelusi