POP MUSIC REVIEW : Del-Lords: Down for the Count

You can always count on the Del-Lords. Every time the New York quartet has played in Los Angeles, it’s offered a solid example of some of the best elements of good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll, and Wednesday’s appearance at the Roxy was no exception.

As usual, the band pushed all the right buttons: songs with crunch, both musically (drawn from rock traditions established by Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, et al.) and lyrically (generally about taking responsibility for one’s life, no matter how tough it gets). And the democratic attitude of leader/songwriter Scott Kempner, who magnanimously shared the spotlight with his bandmates, makes for a spirited presentation.

The problem is that after several years of pretty much the same thing, it’s starting to sound like nothing more than button pushing. Though the Lords have added some fine new material to the show (notably the hummable country-rockish “Judas Kiss,” on which Syd Straw reprised her guest singing role from the recent album “Based on a True Story”), the approach has gotten pretty stale.

Even Kempner’s comment on rock commercialization (“This night does not belong to Michelob,” he said) seemed old hat, not to mention his “Born in the U.S.A.” Springsteen wardrobe (jeans, sleeveless undershirt and red bandanna headband). And at this point in time, the workman-like rock seems pretty mundane compared to the recent superior efforts of the likes of the Smithereens, Dancing Hoods or EIEIO. If the Del-Lords don’t make a few strides forward by the next time they come to town, it’ll be time to count them out.

Opening act the Scarecrows apparently takes the Rolling Stones as its primary role model, but Wednesday its blues-based boogie sounded more like warmed-over Humble Pie, though it doesn’t have any material as good as the Pie’s “Thirty Days in the Hole.”