SOUL ASYLUM

Are you ready for the second generation of loud, fast and somewhat snotty bands from Minneapolis? The same howling wind from the north that brought us the Replacements and Husker Du deposited Soul Asylum at the Lingerie for a late set Friday that is best summed up by one of the band’s song titles: “Whoa!”

Soul Asylum sounds like some unholy mix of Kiss and Hank Williams thrown under the wheels of a runaway train--not as catholic or fragile as the Replacements or as texturally varied as the Huskers, but equally fascinating. What raises this quartet to the level of its city-mates is that, like them, the band matches its sonic force with good songs: winning melodies, surprising shifts in dynamics and, of course, some crunchin’ riffs.

The lyrics were hard to glean through the roar, but singer Dave Pirder’s near-manic presence lent an aura akin to that of Replacement Paul Westerberg’s maddening/endearing petulance.