**1/2 SR-71

NOW YOU SEE INSIDE

(RCA)

SR-71's "Right Now" takes its upbeat charge and octave guitar melodies from punk, but otherwise it's at the pop end of the pop-punk spectrum, alongside similar efforts by Lit and Eve 6. Nevertheless, singer/primary songwriter Mitch Allan's despondent ode to finding Miss Right is by far the punkest tune on the Baltimore band's debut disc. "Alive," an acoustic drama about a battered woman who's finally escaped Mr. Wrong, is more indicative of SR-71's melody-minded approach. The album could use more bite, but the group's pop heart is in the right place on the four-part vocal harmony intro to "Fame (What She's Wanting)" and the pristine chorus of "What a Mess." Not only does Allan have a sticky-sweet voice to go along with his hair gel-accentuated good looks, but he's also pretty good at turning a phrase. Since he's never out of bed before noon, as he muses on "Last Man on the Moon," he "could never be Neil Armstrong/I'd be the last man on the moon." It's not the most earth-shattering line in the world -- but like the band's music, it goes down smoothly enough.

-- JSean Richardson