BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

Seeing BEAUTIFUL CREATURES play to 35 people at an Ohio headlining gig to support their 2001 debut, it was remarked that nowhere in the show's advertising was singer Joe LeSte's status as an ex-member of BANG TANGO mentioned. Since the only people in the front row were aging, in-the-know Metal Sludge chicks with mom-butt crammed into 1993-vintage spandex, it seemed a bit disingenuous. You're trying to break free from the old hair-farmer fan base, but they're the only ones who give enough of a shit to come to the show!

Four years later, we as a nation have become much more honest about our guilty pleasures (thanks, VH1),so hopefully LeSte and Company can be a little more honest about what they're doing. These are Sunset Strip burnouts making Sunset Strip rock and roll, plain and simple — the production may have some modern heft to it, and the makeup these days may run toward emo eyeliner and wrinkle-reducing pancake, but this is alpha-male cock rock with a leather-pants spitshine swagger.

That said, there is a bit more muscle to the guitar tone, a little more grit in the terminally-hoarse LeSte's vocals. The effect is not unlike the last record from THE CULT, if you replace Ian Astbury's shaman ramblings with generic "I don't wanna be like you" glam/punk attitude. There are some superficial differences between the songs — "Ton of Lead" is a tinfoil SOUNDGARDEN, while "Unforgiven" sports one of those ragged-glory choruses that Axl Rose used to be able to put over, and everyone else has been trying to rip off ever since. "Brand New Day" finds the CULT apery at maximum — you could drop this song on side two of "Sonic Temple" or "Beyond Good and Evil" and no one would notice. And why does LeSte sound like Edsel Dope on "Thanks"?!

Ironically, now that their pedigree might be more accepted, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES are a little too heavy, and less fun, than they were in 2001. There's no unrepentantly sleazy summer rocker like "New Orleans" here, just frustratingly generic heavy rock that feels a little too calculated in most spots to really let loose and shake its ass. It ain't bad, and now and then it builds up a good head of steam, but it's hard not to think that they had four years to come up with something better. "Deuce" is a classic case of a band trying too hard, overthink from a band that works best with brains firmly in the OFF position.