POP MUSIC REVIEW : Noiseworks at Bogart’s

Noiseworks’ local debut at Bogart’s in Long Beach couldn’t have been too easy or uplifting for the Australian band. In its homeland, the quintet has accumulated a fistful of chart-topping records and is a huge concert draw. At Bogart’s, there were fewer folks than Noiseworks probably has on its road crew back home--and most of those on hand didn’t seem particularly familiar with the music.

A lot of bands faced with this situation would have just coasted through the set, but Noiseworks played as though they were in front of a sellout crowd of adoring Aussies.

The band covered a lot of sonic ground in its 45-minute set Monday, but there were a few constants running through Noiseworks’ pop-rock pastiche: a muscular instrumental attack; Jon Stevens’ potent, soulful vocals; and wonderfully inspired guitar work by Stuart Fraser, who alternated between soaring flights of fretboard fancy and Edge-y embroidering of the forceful rock.

The approach isn’t overly innovative or adventurous, but it works. Noiseworks. The band continues its Southland swing with shows Friday at the Bacchanal in San Diego and Saturday at the Green Door in Montclair.