AZTEC CAMERA IN THE RIGHT FRAME

Anyone dismayed by the teen-age screaming directed at vapid wimps like Duran Duran and Wham! would have taken heart at Friday’s Aztec Camera show at the Beverly Theatre, where girls were screaming at a smart wimp. The group’s young leader Roddy Frame has been a critical pick to click for two albums now, thanks to torrents of introspective, sometimes striking lyrics and a sound that combines a natural acoustic grain, Merseybeat bounce and Motown lift.

The surprise Friday was the way the Scotsman connected with fans who have the same eagerness and lung power as the Whammies and Duranies, but prefer things on a slightly higher plane. Frame’s unaffected boy-next-door image projected innocence and earnestness, and while the set was marked by some uneventful stretches, his tight pop miniatures zipped by with straightforward charm. They could use more of an edge; he could afford to lose some of that innocence.