POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Adam Ant at the Coach House

Adam Ant doesn’t seem to have spent his three-year hiatus from rock ‘n’ roll deep in thought about how to reinterpret the old or explore the new, but at least he’s kept his looks.

Ant (whose real name is Stuart Goddard) was adept at packaging and selling back in his early-’80s heyday as a leader of the British “New Romantic” movement. To make his mark, he appeared in Indian war paint or in pirate garb, playing the role of a randy dandy who sailed the naughty seas of sexual indulgence while serving up a catchy, highly commercial mixture of vaudeville and new-wave rock.

Ant wore basic black instead of paint and buccaneer duds on Tuesday at the Coach House, but his approach hadn’t changed much. The set found the 38-year-old singer striking poses and fixing the full house with long, intense stares when not turning pirouettes or waving his arms with comical extravagance. His act quickly grew repetitious and predictable.

He received inconsistent support from his band, which included his longtime guitar sidekick and songwriting partner, Marco Pirroni. The best of four new songs, the ballad “Wonderful,” found Ant playing a true romantic. But if this performance is the best he can muster, we don’t really need another chapter from the erstwhile New Romantic.

Ant also plays today through Monday at the Henry Fonda Theatre, and March 5 at Iguanas in Tijuana.