Hi-Fi-Sci-Fi
Dramarama has always been a hard band to peg. Since starting out in Wayne, New Jersey, in the mid-'80s, the band has synthesized early '70s glam rock influences with enough skill to avoid the retro tag at the same time that it's managed to avoid sounding current. The group's big-hair metal look and choreographed stage show were too slick to be alternative but the band members were too geeky and obsessive to be mainstream FM rockers. Auteurs Chris Carter and John Easdale must be tired of not belonging, because onHi-Fi-Sci-Fi, they all too eagerly embrace the played-out grunge movement. The result is jacked-up, tuneless noise, but things are even worse when the group abandons the fuzzy formula to indulge in cocktail-lounge jazz. Only "Late Night Phone Call" recalls the catchy magic of early Dramarama releases such asCinema VéritéandBox Office Bomb.--Jim DeRogatis