And Now Here Comes the New Elvis Costello?

Life is a mystery

Everyone must stand alone

I hear you call my name

And it feels like home .

It’s not hard for most pop fans to recognize those lyrics as the opening lines of “Like a Prayer,” the title track from Madonna’s latest album.

Most people who heard a man singing a surprisingly tender version of the song in recent weeks on college and alternative-rock radio probably thought they were listening to Elvis Costello.

In fact, the record--part of a mini-album released just before Christmas--was by another British singer-songwriter who not only resembles Costello in the areas of vocal timbre and phrasing, but also in the matters of talent and brashness.

Just as Declan McManus had the nerve 13 years ago to borrow the name of one of rock’s greatest stars when he decided to call himself “Elvis” (Costello), Wesley Harding Stace turned to the title of an album by Bob Dylan when he chose his stage name: John Wesley Harding.

As if the Dylan-derived name wasn’t cheeky enough, Harding, 24, did nothing on his just-released U.S. debut album to try to downplay the inevitable Costello comparisons. In fact, he met them head-on, using two members of Costello’s old band--bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas--on the album and mentioning Costello’s name in passing in one of the songs.

“Here Comes the Groom,” the new Sire/Reprise album, is a work of extraordinary promise. Combining a dazzling array of images and rhymes with the satire, compassion and bite of Dylan and Costello, “Groom” is the first great album of the ‘90s.

The CD and cassette editions of the album are recommended over the vinyl version because they carry three bonus tracks, including one song co-written by Peter Case and a second that--again brashly--defines Harding’s artistic heritage.

The opening lines from the latter song:

Bob Dylan is my father

Joan Baez is my mother

And I’m their bastard son.

Delighting in bouncing off various touchstones in rock history, Harding tips his hat to the Everly Brothers in one song (“Cathy’s New Clown”) and gives a nod to the Rolling Stones in “The Devil in Me,” a ‘90s-style “Sympathy for the Devil.”

I gave you acid rain

And I polluted the sea . . .

Well, you can call me

By my real name--humanity.

While you’d think Harding would drown in all these rock ‘n’ roll references, he uses them to his advantage--displaying a playful affection for rock roots, yet refusing to be intimidated by past ambitions or accomplishments.

There are moments in which Harding--whose instrumental backing leans toward the crisp pub-rock sound that developed in England just before the late ‘70s rise of punk--steps beyond the influences to assert his own individuality and vision.

Despite their accessible musical design, many of the songs deal with dark, complex themes about human relationships and values. One stand-out is “Spaced Cowgirl,” a show-stopping assault on someone’s character flaws that is fueled by equal parts anger and concern.

Sample line:

You can be a good lover

Hammer nails into hearts

(But) you can be a big loser

When the real horror starts.

There are occasional clumsy, overly familiar images in a few of Harding’s songs, but they may be deliberate aspect of a satirical style that will be more apparent when Harding does four shows in Southern California shows, starting Feb. 28 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

As part of a bill that also features the Mighty Lemon Drops and Ocean Blue, Harding will also be at the Palace on March 1, UC San Diego’s Price Center on March 2 and Cal Poly Pomona’s University Theatre on March 4.

If Harding is as striking live as he is on “Here Comes the Groom,” rock is blessed with a most commanding new talent.

COMING UP ROSES: The big winner in the annual readers’ polls conducted by New Musical Express, a leading British pop weekly, was the Stone Roses, the especially promising young band from Manchester, England, that mixes a touch of psychedelic adventure with an enticing sense of youthful aspiration.

The group was voted favorite band, album (“The Stone Roses”), single (“Fool’s Gold”) and new band. It was the most impressive sweep in the NME poll since the glory days of the Smiths.

Befitting the backlash that invariably accompanies such a rapid rise, the Stone Roses also finished second (after “Batman”) in the NME voting for hype of the year. The band is expected to begin its first U.S. tour in April.