POP REVIEWS : Plain-Wrap Rock From Junkyard

Make way for plain-wrap hard rock. That’s what Junkyard--the latest band to come down Geffen Records’ gold-lined Hollywood hard-rock flume--offered Wednesday at the Palace: no fancy duds, no moussed hair, no showboating or grandstanding either musically or visually. Just your basic black-T-shirt-clad straight-ahead rock. Even Guns N’ Roses (whose Geffen success no doubt helped grease the channel for Junkyard) seems flashy by comparison.

But plain-wrap is often a synonym for generic , and Junkyard is too often just that. What sets the quintet apart--if anything--is its legitimate L.A. punk roots (singer David Roach’s stage-stalking manner and snarling delivery and guitarist Chris Gates’ mercurial leads gave some credibility to the stage divers Wednesday). But aside from that, the show was pretty much just another round of Aerostones-ZZ Skynyrd riff-a-boogie, though with considerably more crunch than on the group’s recent debut album, and--thank the deity of your choice--just a mere dash of Zeppelinisms.

There is something attractive (if not compelling) about the band’s best material: “Simple Man” shuffles along nicely, though in a very Skynyrd way; “Shot in the Dark” and the home-town anthem “Hollywood” rock hard and steady; and the tender love ballad “Get Your Hands Off My Throat” could be very funny, if it wasn’t presented so seriously. But, all in all, if you added some honest R&B; roots to the recipe, all that would come out of the oven would be Humble Pie.

A Humble Pie connection was also conjured by opening acts Broken Glass and Love/Hate. The former (recently signed to Chrysalis) plies straight-forward rock quite compatible with Junkyard: nothing special, but enjoyable in a way. Love/Hate (now working on its Columbia Records debut) was much more difficult to fathom, not to mention like: sort of a bad Pie trying to be a bad Jane’s Addiction.