POP MUSIC REVIEW : A Muddy Aural Onslaught From Ned’s

It was a case of sonic soup at Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s Hollywood Palladium show on Friday. The young English quintet enjoys the distinction of employing two bass players, and when you combine that with the group’s often redundant rhythmic approach and the hall’s questionable acoustics, the 80-minute set turned into a muddy aural onslaught.

What the band might lack--or have lost--in crisp sound, it made up for with the engaging, bouncy presence of lead singer Jonn and the high-energy demeanor of the entire band. The group’s two American albums are notable for their infectious, high-tech, danceable beats and wry, clever lyrics, and if words were often indecipherable, the undulating fans who packed the Palladium floor indicated that rhythm was king.

Though upbeat, the group’s show still had the feel of a group hypnosis session. But the overuse of strobe lights, coupled with the rhythmic pulverization and the Palladium’s steam-bath climate, served to sedate rather than spellbind.

The show, which also featured the Supreme Love Gods and Flowerhead, ended 90 minutes before the Palladium’s new, city-imposed 1 a.m. curfew