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	WALTHAM MOODY STREET BLUES

It’s been six years since Waltham barnstormed Fuzzy’s CD-release party at the Milky Way and started their rise to MTV’s "You Hear It First" status. Since then, the band have continued to work their unapologetically retro shtick, playing ’80s power pop and singing about girls. (Think Rick Springfield, "Jessie’s Girl," a Waltham standard.) The initial stir they created was supposed to translate into a major-label deal, but that never happened; they released Permission To Build on Traktor 7 in 2003 and are now working their homonymous debut on Rykodisc, in essence a remix of the first album with a few new songs added. That’s what brought them to the Wellfleet Beachcomber last Saturday night.

It’s easy to see how Waltham have been able to thrive without any real studio output: their live performance relies on energetic stage presence and playful between-song banter, and they’re perfect for the Beachcomber’s quirky ambiance. But they drew only a small crowd. The set included some new material; "Joanne" and "Call Me Back" were typical in the "songs about girls or cars" vein and made it clear that Waltham are not going to alter their approach to songwriting any time soon. The new numbers sounded good, but Waltham haven’t changed much since 1999, and the almost empty Beachcomber — a place that’s usually packed this time of year — suggests that their fortunes aren’t about to change either.