Ringside
Some will argue that the music of Ringside, the unignorably good-looking duo of Californians Scott Thomas and actor Balthazar Getty, is itself ignorable: Each trance and electronica-tinged song swings safely into the next, providing for a whole-disc experience that coasts pleasantly but fails to chug or challenge. Others--reviewers not put off by yet another celebrity sidelining as a rock star included--will argue that it's a great disc, and they will be right. Thomas, Ringside's tortured-sounding frontman, apes an irony-steepedEelssound on some tracks and channelsJoseph Arthurwhen he's in a more serious mood, but his handle on substance-suffused pop is his own. If he sidesteps power chords and pyrotechnics, it's in the interest of rounded riffs and reel-you-in hooks. Balthazar Getty, for his part, holds court in the beat department, and there he kills--"Talk to Me" pulses dreamily, and "Tired of Being Sorry" soars. Forced to choose among his talents, the fan conclusion might go like this: ForgetWhite Squalland pull up a seat forRingside.-Tammy La Gorce>