One should always be suspicious of a band that drops its own name in the lyrics to its first single. (Even Wang Chung had the relative grace to wait awhile.) The Escape Club is no exception. This band of British synth-reggae cowboy wanna-bes has created a sound that seems forced and derivative.

Granted, the album's debut single, "Wild Wild West," is a catchy tune, so it's hardly surprising that it's getting its share of radio airplay. The song, about living it up before the "big boom," has infectious rhythm and bass lines. But those effects aren't so brilliant that they deserve to be repeated, as they are four tracks later on "The Longest Day."

The album's other songs include "Shake for the Sheik," whose opening guitar riff is a straight lift from Billy Idol's "Flesh for Fantasy," and more melodic numbers like "Walking Through Walls" and the ballad "Goodbye Joey Rae." But this is one club that is not nearly exclusive enough. (RS 537)

SHEILA ROGERS