NAILS: ON THE HEAD

“DANGEROUS DREAMS.” The Nails. RCA. The opening act for Isabella Rossellini’s mysterious chanteuse in “Blue Velvet” could very well have been the Nails. The New York band’s second album covers much the same emotional territory that that film explores in conventional life and--especially--love turned inside out. In this oddly compelling album’s title tune, songwriter-vocalist Marc Campbell sings, “I’ve grown accustomed to your body lying next to me / Your violence and grace like some twisted fantasy.” But the group also displays enough humor to prevent its viewpoint from degenerating into cheap melodrama. Campbell’s delivery echoes Lou Reed’s sing-talk moodiness, and the musical backing recalls Romeo Void’s disillusioned, late-night romanticism. It’s intriguing, repellent, funny, poignant, threatening music from a band that’s not likely to take over the Top 40 soon.