Lords of the New Garage is more like it. Cut away all the B-movie antichrist trimmings, forget the superstar punk credentials, and what you've got is Sixties garage-rock grunge with dabs of Eighties New Wave respectability. Their remake of the Grass Roots' "Live for Today," produced by Todd Rundgren, is a dead giveaway: singer Stiv Bators gasses up his Iggy Pop-style sneer to thwart the calming influence of drippy synthesizers and Brian James' rubbery guitar.

The problem with Is Nothing Sacred?, the Lords' second album, is that it's just not threatening enough. Admittedly, "Black Girl/White Girl" and "Tale of Two Cities" have the gonzo thrust of the old New York Dolls, and "Partners in Crime" is a frantic, Stooges-style romp. But the album's production is brittle, and there's too much Chiller Theatre-style echo, with the result that songs like "Dance with Me" and "Bad Timing" lack the racy drama of the group's 1982 debut. The worst offender is "Johnny Too Bad," a limp bad-boy drama with gratuitous horns and a ripoff title (the Slickers' early Seventies reggae song). In short, Is Nothing Sacred? is nothing special. (RS 410)

DAVID FRICKE