ALBUM REVIEWS : Rocking S.D.’s Sleepy Image : * Bands: Two recent releases prove that there’s plenty of talent on the local music scene.

Unlike a number of major cities, sleepy San Diego lacks the sort of concentrated, homogenous music “scene” that can be identified by a distinctive character. What it does have, however, is a wealth of talented musicians toiling in underappreciated bands that, given the opportunity, are capable of producing recordings of impressive quality. Current releases by the bands Bordertown and the Origin can be held in evidence.

To thousands of locals who have heard Bordertown in various haunts, the band’s forte is the high-flame interplay that can bring its mostly acoustic mix of folk, pop, blues, rock, jazz, and country to a rolling boil. Songwriting ability and the diverse but well-balanced instrumental and vocal skills of Cici Porter (guitars, percussion), David Beldock (guitars, keyboards), Dan Connor (guitars, harmonica), and Glenn Goodwin (bass, mandolin) have made Bordertown one of the better live acts in town.

Bordertown’s debut, full-length CD, “All Wet” (1990’s “Angsters of Love” and other previous efforts were done in cassette format) contains studio versions of many of the gems from their live repertoire. Taken together, these tracks (recorded at Studio West in Rancho Bernardo) demonstrate that studio craft needn’t douse emotional fire, and that resourceful musicians can use the studio to highlight otherwise inconspicuous facets of their music.

One example can be found on Porter’s “Minnesota Lakes.” Bringing Beldock’s slick dobro-playing front and center lends a country-road spirit to this Gypsy-blues lament and provides a piquant counterpoint to Porter’s impassioned vocal. Although all members sing--one of the band’s greatest appeals is its four-part harmony--Porter possesses the strongest, most versatile pipes. The diversity of material on “All Wet” enables her to span an expressive range from silken sylph to sultry seductress.

In recognition of Porter’s singular qualities as a vocalist and front person, the band’s other songwriters have been writing for her. The wisdom of that approach is apparent on two of Beldock’s better efforts--the folk-pop “Cheyenne” and the L.A.-style pop-rock ode, “Any Luck at All.”

Like their live performances, “All Wet” holds one’s rapt attention as much with the element of surprise as with solid musicianship. After the quirky, alternately dark and blithe country-folk of Connor’s “Hillary Cain,” the Dan Hicks-ish, “jazz hot” zest of the Porter-Goodwin workout, “Themoonisbloominginaroom” is delightfully startling. By following with the electric, strut-rockin’ “Showdown”--featuring a brief but tempestuous guitar solo by Beldock--Bordertown gives a concise lesson in eclecticism.

If you’ve been hearing a lot about this band, but haven’t wanted to venture into the night air, pick up a copy of “All Wet,” available at all area Tower Records and Off The Record stores, and hear what you’ve been missing. It’s good enough to break down your resistance to nightclubs and bars.

The Origin surprised everyone a couple years ago by seemingly coming out of nowhere (actually, La Jolla) to sign with major-label Virgin Records. Recently, the band released its sophomore album, and, like their eponymous debut, “Bend” reveals the boys in a forward-to-the-past mode.

There are no synths, sequencers, samples, or software anywhere to be heard--just songwriter Michael Andrews’ unprocessed vocals riding with an equestrian grace on the backs of his acoustic and electric guitars, Topper Rimel’s bass, Rony Abada’s drums, and “traditional” keyboard work by Daniel Silverman (who exited the group upon completion of this recording).

As suggested by the band’s name, the Origin’s music is more reminiscent of the introspective, neatly hewn, acoustic-based pop and rock of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s than of the relentlessly aggressive, purposely sloppy “alternative” rock currently in vogue. The band’s geographical muse is even easier to track.

If one were unaware that the Origin has relocated to San Francisco, the Bay Area gestalt that flows through the new material would be a tip-off. Jefferson Starship’s Paul Kantner recently described that city as having a vitality born of converging, contradictory forces, and that pretty much sums up “Bend.”

On “Giving It All”--a song about a woman in a desolate marriage who finds sustenance in occasional scraps of affection--Andrews welds a Jerry Garcia-like vocal to a piano-and-guitar dirge reminiscent of early-vintage Band. On the title cut, a portamento electric-guitar line zooms in and around delicate, acoustic-guitar chording like a yellowjacket in a spring field. The tunes “Candymine” and “Trapped in a Dream Machine” suggest what Pink Floyd might have sounded like if the British trippers had grown up in California. “Bonfires Burning” has the controlled rhythmic push of early Steve Miller and a string obligato that sounds like the Kronos folks playing “Money (That’s What I Want).”

Another throwback to the ‘60s is the Origin’s emphasis on song structure and mood and down-playing of instrumental flash. I suppose it’s possible that the players simply lack the technical proficiency to show off, but I’d rather believe that the frequently mesmerizing effect of the band’s uncluttered arrangements is the result of planning and restraint.

The songs on “Bend” might lack the head-smacking catchiness that would make them immediately memorable, but, individually and collectively, they fix themselves to the subconscious and dispense mood-altering melodies in a time- release manner that spells greater longevity. “Bend” is good work that deserves a patient audience.

Bordertown will celebrate the release of “All Wet,” by performing at receptions tonight, from 6 to 10 p.m., at the Grant Grill (U.S. Grant Hotel, 232-3121); and Sunday, from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Full Moon Saloon in Encinitas (436-7397). Admission to both receptions is free.