POP MUSIC REVIEW : Gunbunnies’ Southern Hybrid

There’s a new crop of smart American rock bands that’s often as hard to describe as it is rich in potential pleasures. Last month, Minneapolis’ Trip Shakespeare came through town, setting very high standards. Now comes Little Rock’s Gunbunnies with a winning--though sparsely attended--show on Monday at the Roxy.

While the ‘Bunnies lack the Shakespearean absurdity and soaring romanticism, the quartet has hit on its own Southern-accented hybrid that is at once wittily intellectual and rockin’ fun. At moments Monday, it was as if the Beatles met Faulkner on E Street. Those moments were sporadic during the 70-minute set, but singer and primary songwriter Chris Maxwell provided enough clever turns of musical and lyrical phrases to warrant comparisons to ‘70s Southern cult fave Big Star.

On its debut album, “Paw Paw Patch,” the band uses trumpet, clarinet and electric sitar to vary the standard rock formula. At the Roxy it was just straight two-guitars-bass-and-drums, but played for power and melody almost enough to match the record’s intriguing textures. All that was missing was a crowd to appreciate it.

Add to the list of smart rockers opening band Field Trip, a quartet from Pleasanton, Calif. that substitutes West Coast frivolity for rural earnestness, but with enough solid song-sense to be taken seriously as part of this new trend--if it turns out to be one.