EVERCLEAR “So Much for the Afterglow” Capitol, * * * 1/2

Everclear’s third album rings with the clamor of clashing images. A sweet, sunny, Beach Boys-style chorale is abruptly swamped by pummeling rock and lines about “the scary things you see from the corner of your eyes.” Later, the sound of playground laughter is shattered by an ominous message. “Why’d they have to call my school/tell me my mother had a nervous breakdown?” Art Alexakis sings with raw intensity.

Innocence interrupted is Alexakis’ beat, and in this follow-up to Everclear’s 1995 breakthrough album, “Sparkle and Fade,” the singer-guitarist-songwriter walks it with authority. The battle for equilibrium in the wake of emotional trauma, the search for comfort and connection--Alexakis makes it all vivid through accumulation of detail, and he spits it out with a Lennon-like candor and an unruly, unstoppable energy.

The Portland trio’s spiky rock is punk-rooted, but Alexakis’ production broadens the range, applying touches of pop craft--from string orchestrations to a taste of banjo--without compromising the basics.

Ultimately, the struggle outlined in this music carries a hard-earned sense of healing. The hopefulness that emerges may be wary, but this band makes clear that it’s better than none. (Everclear plays a free show today at the Hard Rock Cafe in Universal City.)

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good), four stars (excellent).