Cerati keeps solo vibe elegant

A couple of months ago, Vicentico, former lead singer with Fabulosos Cadillacs -- one of the two most important bands in the history of Argentine rock -- came to town to showcase his first solo album live. Vicentico brought with him a small army of percussionists, generating a sweaty vibe, warm and inviting.

On Thursday, Gustavo Cerati, former lead singer with Soda Stereo -- the other Argentine rock standout -- came to the Palace to showcase his new solo album, “Siempre Es Hoy” (“Forever Is Today”). Cerati brought with him a battery of electronic paraphernalia, generating a cool vibe, detached and elegant.

Pitting the Cadillacs against Soda, of course, is like comparing apples to oranges. But doing so is also inevitable.

For while Vicentico has survived the death of his old group by becoming more vulnerable and more accessible, Cerati continues to be as inscrutable and cerebral as ever. Much as his music is undeniably beautiful, its coldness is often unpleasant.

At the Palace, hard-core Cerati fans were rewarded with a generous serving of his trademark sweetly oblique melodies. After a sumptuous experiment with epic soundscapes (1999’s “Bocanada”), the singer has now returned to the more monotone, guitar-based textures of his Soda days.

Backed by a solid quintet that included a female vocalist, Cerati performed a shimmering version of the new “Karaoke.” The tune spotlights the singer’s compositional strengths, contrasting a frothy, delicately layered groove with playfully venomous lyrics scorning a former lover (Cerati recorded “Siempre Es Hoy” after a painful divorce.)

To Cerati’s credit, the show focused mostly on his solo repertoire, refusing to use the old Soda hits to win over the crowd.

An intense electronic rendition of the band’s oldie “Sobredosis de TV” (“TV Overdose”) delivered some of the funk that, unfortunately, is usually absent from Cerati’s music.

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Gustavo Cerati

Where: JC Fandango, 1086 N. State College, Anaheim

When: Sunday, 8 p.m.

Price: $35

Contact: (714) 758-1057