**1/2 Satellite Elvis

SATELLITE ELVIS

(Monkey Dept.)

New Bedford doesn't seem the most likely place for a radio-ready modern-pop band to spring from, but Satellite Elvis threatens to put the old whaling town's little underground rock scene on the map. Hooky riffs, pleasant tenor vocals, a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, and a sense of humor -- especially in the rock-lifestyle parody "Cadillac on the Hill" and the ironic suicide dirge "Last Song" -- make this debut CD easy listening (in the complimentary sense). Guitar solos are minimal but melodic; at times the band's gift for understatement echoes back to the '60s and one-hit wonders like Love and Kaleidoscope -- bare-boned and beautiful. Overall, the CD sounds like what it is: a promising homespun debut, with lots of potential.

-- Ted Drozdowski