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** The Ocean Blue

DAVY JONES’ LOCKER

(March)

In the late ’80s, the Ocean Blue emerged as one of the few American bands (they’re from Hershey, Pennsylvania) who sounded as if they might have been more at home in Manchester. Like Stone Roses and the Charlatans UK, they channeled rave culture euphoric dance imperative into guitar-centered, beat-happy pop songs, and eventually they scored a minor hit with “Sublime,” from Beneath the Rhythm and Sound (Sire, 1993). Then they disappeared for three years, during which time they severed ties with openly gay keyboardist Steve Lau, who’s alleged to have left because of the band’s homophobia.

They haven’t been the same since. Their first album without Lau, See the Ocean Blue (PolyGram, 1996), mined a blander folk-rock vein — gone were the swirling keyboards that had provided an appealing psychedelic edge. The “new” Davy Jones’ Locker was recorded at the band’s home studio in 1999 and was made available on line last year. Now that demand has exceeded the band’s distribution capabilities, the indie label March has stepped in and given the disc a national release. Much like See the Ocean Blue, it’s a banal blur of champagne jazz chords, delicate guitar melodies, winsome vocals, and bubbly drum beats. It’s pleasant enough, but a big step down from the dreamy heights the band hit in their early days.

— Lorne Behrman