Tasty and Filling Mouthful

Chewy Marble proves to be one very delectable pop band over the course of its 12-song debut. But if you expect the kind of easily digestible confections served by such fellow O.C./L.A. popsters as Walter Clevenger, Baby Lemonade or the Liquor Giants, forget about it.

A different recipe is followed here. Upbeat melodies are on the skimpy side; a few songs invite listeners to sing along to catchy refrains and choruses. More in the mold of the melancholy Toad the Wet Sprocket, this San Fernando Valley-based quartet has created a predominantly introspective, dark mood where romantic turmoil becomes inescapable.

There’s plenty to sink your teeth into on this impressive debut, co-produced by Baby Lemonade’s Rusty Squeezebox. With equal aplomb, the group--songwriter-guitarist Brian Kassan, lead singer-guitarist Stu Forman, bassist Derrick Anderson and drummer Tamera Glover--moves freely from slow, airy meditations to more up-tempo pop-rock numbers.

Bookending the album are “Down” and “Touch and Go,” both swirling, neo-psychedlic sound scapes that float on a hazy bed of heartache. In a similar vein are “Loneliest Man,” “Misr’y Train” and “My Reaction,” tortuous downers that make Morrissey sound like Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky.

Still, Kassan, unlike the moping Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, makes you care about his plight. In “I Just Fall,” it’s easy to identify with the hopelessly naive protagonist who dreamily whispers: “I have noticed all the wonder in your smile / Can we sit here just awhile.”

The group brings a welcome dose of levity with “I Want You Only” and “Jennifer Smiles.” Both score with their effervescent harmonies; repeated “bop-bop-bops,” “la-la-las” and “ah-ah-ahs” recall such sweet-sounding ‘60s hit-makers as the Turtles and the Association.

The shimmering “Silly Place” and “Teacher’s Pet” are joyous, pure pop that would please the Beatles and Beach Boys, primary Chewy Marble influences.

So the album is shamelessly derivative. And, yes, Forman’s singing does sound like that of Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. That said, Chewy Marble does carve out its own niche, thematically and musically, to add to pop music’s legacy. Its diverse instrumental textures and thoughtful song craft are worthy of repeated guilt-free helpings.

(Available from Permanent Press Recordings, 14431 Ventura Blvd., No. 311, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. E-mail: enterprise@loop.com.)

BE THERE

Chewy Marble performs Saturday at Fitzgerald’s, 19171 Magnolia Ave., Huntington Beach. 9 p.m. (714) 968-4523. Also scheduled to appear as part of the monthly Incense and Peppermint pop showcase are Charlotte’s Bionic Blimp, the Negro Problem and Martin Luther Lennon, among others.

Ratings range from * (poor) to **** (excellent), with *** denoting a solid recommendation.