POP MUSIC REVIEW : Rolling Out the Inspiral Carpets at the Palace

If the English group Inspiral Carpets wasn’t from Manchester, the focus of the music media’s rapt attention a few years back in their relentless quest for the next big “scene,” it might never have been given a recording contract (or perhaps even formed). But the band’s birthright is also something of an albatross, as its performance Thursday at the Palace showed.

The packaging of Inspiral Carpets’ presentation, from the groovy swirling colors projected onto a backdrop to lead singer Tom Hingley’s incessant pogoing, was de rigueur Manchester, almost indistinguishable from the look of the other Manchester acts that have passed through town. That was unfortunate, because Inspiral Carpets sounds much more adventuresome than its neopsychedelic brethren, varying tempos and tackling dark topics with dramatic insight.

Hingley’s rich, authoritative vocals gave each word definition, even amid the reverberating din of guitar and organ; it’s not often one leaves the Palace, where sonic subtleties are often lost in the mix, debating the meaning of particular lyrics. With such thought-provoking material as “Two Worlds Collide,” Inspiral Carpets gave the audience plenty to talk about Thursday night.

While the Carpets provoked minds, opener Sunscreem was content to woo feet. The British group’s bouncy rave was fun but mostly failed to deliver on the promise of the single “Love U More.”