POP MUSIC REVIEWS : FURIOUS MESSIAHS

Singer-guitarist Bill Carter aspires to join the ranks of our culture’s great baldies: Yul Brynner, quarterback Y.A. Tittle, hulking ‘40s monster movie star Tor Johnson and pro wrestler King Kong Bundy.

In fact, with his soft features, shaved head and glazed expression, Carter looked a little like Bundy would after taking a shot in the chops from Hulk Hogan on Thursday at the Roxy, where his trio the Screaming Blue Messiahs made its local debut.

The band comes over from England burdened with comparisons to the Clash’s firebrand punk and ex-Pere Ubu David Thomas’ erratic eccentricity, and there was a little of the former in calls to arms like the apocalyptic “Smash the Market Place” and a lot of the latter in Carter’s roller-coaster rants. But rather than Thomas’ benign whimsy, Carter’s sung-spoken excursion had a dark, Jim Morrison tone that added to the unsettling nature of the Messiahs’ music.

The monochromatic sound was alternately wearing and invigorating, and Carter’s furious guitar outbursts and impulsive manner finally built some momentum. But while you can’t question Carter’s intensity, he never established a strong link with the audience--he held your attention, but it was like watching from a distance as a strange gladiator went through his solitary exercises.