POP MUSIC REVIEW : Morphine’s Hypnotic Roxy Show Scans Complex Depths

“Caution, Low Ceiling,” reads a sign at the side of the stage at the Roxy. While it may be intended as a warning for animated musicians, on Tuesday it also served as an introduction for the Boston trio Morphine.

The band, which consist solely of saxophone, two-string bass and drums, wallows in the baritone, scanning the bottom depths of the scale while avoiding high notes like the plague. Morphine keeps it simple, playing slick grooves and using the sax as a rhythmic backbone rather than the squealing solo instrument it usually becomes in the hands of experimental rockers.

This how-low-can-you-go approach seeped into the pop world last year via Morphine’s second album, “Cure for Pain.” The sound is more arty on the new one, “yes,” and at the Roxy the band applied its more complicated approach to both old and new songs, sacrificing some of its fluidity for complexity. While not quite as basic and gut-level, the songs still came off slinkily hypnotic and compelling.

Singer-bassist Mark Sandman sang in drugged tones about pool halls, motels and girls named Candy, and won the audience between songs with his dry wit and pseudo-poetry. But Dana Colley’s saxophone drove the set, creating a gravitational field of rich, smoky melody.

While the show wasn’t as good as the band’s last L.A. appearance, Morphine proved it still stands alone in the obscure world of foghorn entertainment.