*** Superdrag

IN THE VALLEY OF DYING STARS

(Arena Rock)

One-time accidental tourists on modern-rock radio, thanks to the 1996 Brit-pop-sounding jingle "Sucked Out," Knoxville's Superdrag have survived a precipitous journey from indie to major and back to indie again. The band first surfaced on the San Francisco underground rock-cum-bedroom-electronica label Darla, then had a two-record stint on Elektra, and now finds itself on Brooklyn's pop-oriented Arena Rock, without any sign of wear and tear.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist John Davis has always split his inspiration between Lennon-McCartney and Mould-Hart; the result has been songs that pit pop sensibility against a wall of blazing guitars and smoldering rhythms. On this third full-length, he also showcases songwriting discipline, craftily balancing all-out rockers ("Bright Pavilions," "Gimme Animosity") with thoughtful midtempo turns ("Unprepared," "Ambulance Driver"). Like another seasoned and often overlooked pop stylist, Matthew Sweet, Davis and Superdrag adhere to that old saw about brevity's being the soul of wit, most evidently on the standout "Baby's Waiting," which packs a whole lotta hooks and a taut guitar solo into a three-minute frame. Not every song holds to this standard, and a few lengthier jaunts fail to trim the gristle. But these shortcomings hardly detract from a solid pop effort, especially when so many of Superdrag's peers stumble under the pressure of playing the major-to-indie-label game.

-- Richard A. Martin