Lush

(Whisky; 350 capacity; $15)

By PHIL GALLO

Presented by Goldenvoice. Reviewed April 17, 1996.

Band: Miki Berenyi, Emma Anderson, Chris Acland, Phil King.

Lush played it short 'n' sweet -- a dozen songs in 45 minutes -- before a packed house Wednesday, working girlish charm on top and a variety of guitar styles underneath. Certainly a short set by most standards, but enough to make fans want to hear more when the quartet performs at the Palace next month.

The varied atmospherics of the London band's latest 4AD/Reprise release "Lovelife" were forsaken for grind-and-chime electric guitars; the catchiness of songs such as "Single Girl" offer nuanced appeal in a bank of a half-dozen pop sound-alikes.

As the evening progressed, Lush's sound expanded to include bells, chunky denseness and, most appetizingly, swirling psychedelia that the band could make its bread and butter if it chose to limit itself.

Rhythm guitarist Miki Berenyi's lilting voice is made all the more dramatic by Emma Anderson's distanced high harmonies -- little-girl voices discussing womanly concerns. Sound mix rendered much of what they sang unintelligible -- then again Lush's records are hardly documents of clarity -- but that ambiguity contributes to Lush's appeal.

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