POP REVIEWS : Seriousness, but No Great Shakes From The The

Loud. Cold. Serious as the downtown business section of Beirut. Debuting locally at the Roxy on Wednesday, U.K. singer-songwriter Matt Johnson’s latest, rock-band version of The The came off like the Little (almost) Tin Machine That (almost) Could.

Johnson, who’s been making records under the The The moniker for the last nine years, has recruited some formidable players--chief among them ex-Smiths riffslinger Johnny Marr, the only Guitar Hero of the ‘80s--for this incarnation, but the nearly 90-minute set caught fire only intermittently, mostly because the band was locked into playing along with prerecorded tapes (massed choruses, synthesised horn parts, etc.).

On record, namely The The’s new “Mind Bomb” album, this highly stylized combination of declamatory/filtered vocals, hard riffing and unusual production touches holds together fairly well. Live, the sound was simply too heavy on keyboards and too light on hooks.

Although Wednesday’s sold-out show was not without its highlights--the bitter fake-folk-rock of the “Beat(en) Generation,” the hilarious ballroom blitz subversion of “Armageddon Days Are Here (Again),” the naked poptimism of “This Is the Day”--the truth is that most of these jams just didn’t shake like the proverbial jelly on the plate. Free Johnny Marr.