Fredalba delivers

"Uptown Music for Downtown Kids" Fredalba (Piller)

Fredalba is likely getting much of its press because of bandmember Eric Balfour's high-profile placement as a young police detective on the upcoming NBC police show "Hawaii," but listening to this CD, it's clear that the band has more going for it than its celebrity frontman.

Balfour is an effective vocalist, whether handling hard rock or moody techno, and evidently a prolific writer as well, since he co-wrote all of the album's 12 songs. His bandmates, and a few guests enlisted by producer Blues Saraceno, surround Balfour's vocals with a thick and unpredictable mix of live instrumentation and turntablist sounds. Musical diversity is the thing here -- some tracks incorporate Spanish or "Spanglish" sound bites amid the lyrics -- and none of it feels contrived or forced.

The lyrics deserve attentive listening. While the album credits don't identify the specific writer, Fredalba's Web site reveals that Balfour is the one responsible for such memorable imagery as "a waterfall of lust," and who disses someone as the type of guy who "doesn't want to date your cousin if you grew up in Kentucky." (But using the word "funky" in the previous line to rhyme with "Kentucky" falls a bit short.)

A long and complicated tale plays out in "Progression," as Balfour sings with simple eloquence of the search for meaning and the desire to " ... lose the man of regression/the man of depression hiding in me."

"Slide Your Breath," a dark and moody tale of a sexual encounter, also incorporates colorfully written lyrics.

The group's music defies easy definition. Flautist Charmian Callon is the key player here who, along with turntablist Grady Reinagle, takes several songs well beyond the familiar limits of your basic bass/drums/guitar trio. Fredalba's musical pallete includes the effective use of hip-hop, rock, Latin, acid jazz, acoustic rock and traces of classic late-'60s psychedelia, producing something fresh and unpretentiously multi-cultural out of the ever-fertile SoCal music scene.

Fredalba performs at Wave Waikiki tonight, hitting the stage around 11 p.m.

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