CRIME EMERGES FROM THE FIRE

Band: Crime & the City Solution.

Personnel: Simon Bonney, vocals; Mick Harvey, keyboards; Rowland S. Howard, guitar; Epic Soundtracks, drums; Harry Howard, bass.

History: When Bonney led an early version of Crime & the City Solution in Melbourne, Australia, in the late ‘70s, he had a strong influence on Nick Cave, then singer for the Birthday Party. Turnabout is fair play, and when the incendiary Birthday Party burned out in ‘83, its members Howard and Harvey (who--pay attention now--also plays with Cave’s current group Bad Seed) teamed up with Bonney. Crime & the City Solution’s first EP, “The Dangling Man,” was released on England’s Mute label in the spring of ’85. After that, drummer Soundtracks (from the critically favored post-punk group Swell Maps) joined up. The group’s second EP, “Just South of Heaven,” was released last fall to favorable critical reaction in England and New York. The group has been touring England and Europe when Harvey has had time off from his Cave commitment. The group’s latest single release is “Adventure.”

Sound: If the Birthday Party sounded as if it wanted to destroy rock ‘n’ roll, Crime & the City Solution sounds as if it wants to reinvest it with mystery, punch and tension. In a blues-tinged voice that’s whiskey-sour smooth, Bonney scales the Lizard King heights of early Jim Morrison, while Howard’s stinging, stabbing guitar embellishes songs that aim for atmosphere rather than format. At a time when too many predictable Gothic-rock groups drown in dense, self-serving misery, Crime & the City Solution uses space, drama and character to create a haunting, almost elegantly sad beauty.

Shows: The Roxy, tonight.