POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Noise Addict Shows Off Young Talent

Ben Lee counts some pretty impressive folks among his supporters. Liz Phair, Fugazi, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and the Beastie Boys are just some of the rock hotshots who have had a hand in his blossoming career. But whether playing with his band, Noise Addict, or on his own, the Australian teenager has proven worthy of the all-star support.

At Noise Addict’s Friday night show at the Alligator Lounge, Lee, 16, amiably admonished a gaggle of girls clamoring for “Pop Queen” (a track from his solo album) by emphasizing “We don’t do that [expletive].” The message: This is the band’s night. With the group, Lee’s music, naturally, takes on a harder, more dynamic edge.

Even so, it was still largely Lee’s outgoing personality and songwriting skills that held the group’s set together. Despite technical difficulties, a general lack of stage presence by Lee’s band-mates and the smart-alecky crowd, Noise Addict forged on with most of the songs from the group’s current Grand Royale album, “Meet the Real You.” Live, the tunes were looser and scruffier, but no less heartfelt.

Whether addressing adolescent angst or commenting on some of the more dubious aspects of the music business, the songs resonate with originality and insight that you don’t expect from someone so young. Ultimately, Noise Addict’s sincerity made its less-than-dynamic stage presence seem perfectly natural.