MARY’S DANISH “American Standard” Morgan Creek* *...

MARY’S DANISH “American Standard”

Morgan Creek

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Balancing the intelligence and intensity of X with the softer, more personalized edges of Lone Justice, Mary’s Danish stood three years ago as the young band that could best carry Los Angeles’ ‘80s alternative-rock legacy into the ‘90s.

After a somewhat unfocused 1991 album, the four-man, two-woman group finally begins delivering on that promise. At times, Mary’s Danish can sound a bit generic, in an anonymous new-wave way, and it can be too obvious thematically (as in the TV evangelist observations of “God Said”).

In the key moments, however, the band asserts a confident and consistent voice, shedding some of its old, distracting eclecticism in favor of a more comfortable and appealing rock ‘n’ roll purity. “Porcupine” and “Leave It Alone” are wonderfully appealing pop-rock exercises.

Even more significantly, singer-writers Julie Ritter and Gretchen Seager show increased passion and depth in songs such the “Oh Lonely Soul . . .” and “Weeping Tree.” While the band has been slower to evolve than expected, it is finally exhibiting the kind of clear-eyed musical determination and vision required to step beyond the ‘80s comparisons and declare its artistic independence.