Ten Years After--The Rise of a New Generation : * * * * <i> Great Balls of Fire</i> * * * <i> Good Vibrations</i> * * <i> Maybe Baby</i> * <i> Running on Empty : </i>

Can this really be the Circle Jerks’ sixth album? Have the Droogs actually been at it for 15 years?

As independent recording activity on the L.A. rock scene approaches its second decade, we’re starting to get cross-breeding not just of styles, but of generations--a phenomenon evident in the city’s latest crop of records.

When local bands starting releasing their own records back in the late-’70s dawn of the grass-roots scene, all the bands were new. Now, the old guard--the Jerks, Droogs, Fibonaccis--are assuming the role of veterans, and while they benefit from the well-established followings that come with that status, they also face the veterans’ struggle to keep things fresh.

Bands like Blood on the Saddle, Divine Horsemen and Leaving Trains are a step younger and in the prime of life. On their new LPs, they exhibit a bracing sense of consolidating their strengths and coming into their own.

And a whole new generation is popping up--both entirely new entries like To Damascus and Waldo the Dog Faced Boy, and fresh formats for familiar faces (Opal).

The albums and EPs issued in the past couple of months reflect the diversity that results of this blend. If one sound seems to be making a move, it’s the inventive neo-psychedelia of Opal, To Damascus and Waldo.

Here’s a look at the latest L.A. sounds.

Surreal Soundscapes

WALDO THE DOG FACED BOY. “Wood.” Flux. Is this the new L.A. band of the year? One reliable indicator is KXLU-FM’s play list--and “Wood” went right to the top. The album’s vivid, multidimensional sound and its the serene, rhapsodic moments suggest New Age music, but New Age types would be sent scurrying by the harrowing, dissonant passages that erupt regularly in these surreal soundscapes. The LP is predominantly instrumental, so the group’s main job now is finding a to give more time to Mary Ellen Mason’s rich vocals. * * * 1/2