Pere Ubu have been neglected pop geniuses for 20 years, and with the release of their brilliant new Ray Gun Suitcase, they're poised to remain that way. It's their own damn fault. Whenever the band comes up with a set of transfixing chord changes, it includes lyrics like "I want to be a suitcase/I want to hang around in your Greyhound terminal/I want to ride in your baggage car," as in their latest LP's title song. Or they'll graffiti-spray an entire tune with whistling tea-kettle synthesizer. So it has been since their beginnings in the proto-punk '70s, when Pere Ubu wrote a compelling teen-angst anthem for one of the first indie singles and nihilistically titled it "Final Solution." Oy vey.

If underground rock had a Hall of Fame that gave awards for influence and creativity, Pere Ubu would be more decorated than Magic Johnson. Arty punks from Mission of Burma to Bob Mould have wailed the Cleveland group's praises, and the band's sole constant, keening warbler, David Thomas, is a legit visionary. On Ubu's 10th album he reveals a surprising reverence for Beach Boys melodies and sharp hooks along with the usual fare: dagger-tipped cynicism, dark humor and a surreal musical palette. Thomas' tastes run broad. Guitars and keyboards bleep and snort their way through the soundscape, and his lyrics are so smart, they stand as cultural critique even as they shed non sequiturs like a mangy sheep dog sheds fur.

On "Electricity," Thomas contrasts the transience of life with the immutability of stones over what sounds like a woozy fusion of surf guitar and the soundtrack to Plan 9 from Outer Space. Only he plays it for poignancy and perversity. One song here is called "My Friend is a Stooge for the Media Priests," for God's sake. It's a freewheeling statement of independence that darts ironically from a heavy-rock foundation into free-jazz space.

Sure, all this gets a little fuzzy at times, but it's never dull. And one thing remains indelibly clear: After 20 years spent creating his own pop universe, eccentric yet listener friendly, David Thomas is nobody's stooge. (RS 718)

TED DROZDOWSKI