POP MUSIC REVIEW : Chiefs of Relief Plunders Styles but Fails to Find Inspiration

It is almost tempting to call the Chiefs of Relief “Malcolm’s Children,” considering that the nucleus of the quartet was once associated with self-acknowledged rock ‘n’ roll swindler-manager Malcolm McClaren.

Drummer Paul Cook was a member of the most notorious punk group of all time: the McClaren-conceived Sex Pistols.

Singer-guitarist Matthew Ashman provided the tribal pop edge for Bow Wow Wow, McClaren’s most noteworthy post-Pistols project.

Watching these Chiefs powwow at Club Lingerie in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, it was clear what a difference a manager can make. This is a band in search of a concept to call its own. In the process it ruthlessly plunders any and all pseudo-trendy pop styles: hip-hop, funk, glam, anthemic punk choruses.

But this is calculation without inspiration: Former working-class punks plodding through a version of Cameo’s “Word Up” is definitely not the next big thing.

Elsewhere, such assertions as “You Got the Freedom to Rock” hardly scored points in the brilliant lyrics department, especially considering that the past repertoires of Ashman and Cook include everything from “Anarchy in the U.K.” to “Sexy Eiffel Towers.”

Those former punkoid songs’ wild, loony, loopy sense of outrage and humor was missing from the Chiefs’ expertly played but wooden bid for second-time stardom. The group plays tonight at the Scream in Los Angeles and Sunday at Night Moves in Huntington Beach.

The Chiefs of Relief, Rhino 39 and the Affect play rock at Night Moves, 5902 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach, at 9 p.m. Tickets: $6. Information: (714) 840-0208.