Pop Music Review : Juliana Hatfield Enlarges Her Band--and Her Sound

At 27, Juliana Hatfield has finally found a way to shed her image as alternative rock’s eternal adolescent: Flanking her at the Roxy on Thursday was a keyboardist and backing singer who looked all of 12.

That presence was more important musically, though. Hatfield has enlarged her band from a minimalist indie-rock trio to a quintet in which her own rhythm guitar is enhanced by a second guitar, keyboards and rhythm section. As she remarked near the end of the show, “The last time we played the Roxy we really sucked bad.” The implication that they didn’t do so this time was pretty much on the mark.

The expanded lineup instilled her folk-rockish music with rich texture in its atmospheric side and extra bite on the crunchy rockers. The Boston-based performer’s piping, little-girl voice and naive, wonder-struck perspective combine to limit her expressive options, but there’s a maturing tone in her most recent songwriting, and on stage she was less precious than she had any right to be.

Within her narrow range, her musical and vocal idiosyncrasies kept things interesting and genuine, allowing her to effectively counter what she refers to on her latest album as “the irony that’s killing rock ‘n’ roll.”