**1/2 Reef

GLOW

(Epic)

Too young to be classic rock, and too rawly rockin' for the Hootie and Dave Matthews scene, Brit rockers Reef are a rare breed in the late '90s -- an unpretentious, no-frills rock-and-roll band. The influences are clear -- touch of Zeppelin here, some Free there, and the harder side of the Black Crowes mixed with a little Chili Peppers-style white-boy funk. On muscular, guitar-driven, testosterone-fueled tracks like "Place Your Hands," "I Would Have Left You," "Lately Stomping," and "Come Back Brighter," Gary Stringer's guttural vocal outbursts bring to mind Rod Stewart or Joe Cocker on a heavy-metal bender. And in the rare moments when he tones it down to a rough croon, as on the soulful ballad "Consideration," Reef prove they're not quite as one-dimensional as the repetitive single "Place Your Hands" might at first suggest. There's nothing groundbreaking on Glow, which was produced with tasteful retro touches by Black Crowes/Screaming Trees/Primal Scream knob twister George Drakoulias. But like fellow British '60s revivalists Oasis, Reef bring one thing back to rock music that Yanks like Billy Corgan and Trent Reznor seem to have left out: fun.

-- Ben Heller