***

THE LIVING END

(Reprise)

What if Stiff Little Fingers had been a rockabilly band from Melbourne instead of a gang of Clash City rockers from Ulster? That question is a least partially answered by Australia's the Living End, a young and restless punk-pop outfit with spiky flattops, a stand-up bassist, and a fleet-fingered guitarist who knows enough Duane Eddy licks to pull off a pretty decent Brian Setzer impersonation on the trio's major-label debut. "West End Riot" could have been another nostalgic "Rumble in Brighton," but over a brisk beat singer Chris Cheney keeps things personal and gritty enough to bring to mind the Clash's "Last Gang in Town," only with a better guitar solo. "Prisoner of Society" is a catchy little Green Dayish ditty in which Cheney wants a riot of his own but has to settle instead for the "generation gap" he equates with "war": it's so '77-style punk (only with another better guitar solo) that he probably should have nixed the line "We don't refer to the past," but it's fierce, tuneful, and passionate enough to make up for the oversight. The band really falter only when they take a stab at a little ska. If it's trendy they're after, they'd be better off buying zoot suits and hopping aboard the swing train. They've certainly got the chops.

-- Matt Ashare

(The Living End perform this Friday, March 12, at the Greek American Hall in Cambridge with the Ducky Boys and Raging Teens. Call 800-477-6849)