**1/2 Love As Laughter

#1 USA

(K)

Singer/songwriter Sam Jayne -- the lone four-tracker behind the moniker Love As Laughter on 1996's The Greeks Bring Gifts (K) -- used to play guitar in the noisy Olympia punk outfit Lync. And his latest incarnation of Love As Laughter, now a trio featuring a drummer (Dave Schneider) and a second guitarist (Jessica Espeleta) -- splits the difference between Lync's rocking out and the inward musings of a lo-fi bedroom eccentric. Jayne brings his mutant pop sensibility to bear on the Stonesy riffing of "Slow Blues Fever" and "I'm a Bee," the latter of which boldly nicks the signature hook from "Jumping Jack Flash." The results bring to mind variously Pavement minus the free-associated lyrics, a happier Versus, and a less spastic Archers of Loaf. The disc ends with a couple of "hidden" tracks, presumably culled from Jayne's home recordings, which more or less confirm that Love As Laughter works much better as a band than as a solo project.

-- Matt Ashare