Zebras Get Out of Orange County

They have gangsta lyrics, they scowl under dreads, and they make cryptic yet suspect handsigns. I was afraid of them from the start. And then when I tremulously put them in my ear, it was an injection of liquid electricity that made me twitch and jolt through the album. They are good.

Zebrahead is one of the big up-and-comings. You've heard "Get Back" all over the radio. That's them. Around since summer of 1996, when Greg Bergdorf (guitar), Justin "Goldtoof" Maurello (vocals, guitar), Ben Osmundson (bass), Ed Udhus (drums) and Ali Tabatabaee (rapper) jammed so well together they decided to depart their other bands and become the best Orange Country band of the 1997 L.A. Music Awards, Zebrahead grew out of the O.C. punk scene into their own inspirational and unique white-light weldwork of angry vocals and freestyle rap. Through a string of charged, high-energy shows, Zebrahead built up an enthusing fan base and had major record labels sweet-talking them to sign even before they had played one show outside of Orange County.

Mostly, they are raging lyrics, ripping throats and blazing guitars, with a generous helping of manic screeches and sirens. "Check" and "Get Back" grab your imagination from the onset, and grip you with iron jaws. The movement is crazy, with rip, roar and brazen brakes.

When they do slow down, the dynamic pulse is still dominant, but they slip into a slower reggae sound which is very prettily bouncy at the knees. "The Real Me" has singing guitars backed by a relentless tempo and "Fly Daze" is down-right beautiful, making two very atypical lovesongs in the album.

Anytime now, if they haven't already, they are going to blow up all over the charts. I don't promise, but I hope. Until then, wait for their movie: they will soon be on the big screen, in Glenn Ballard's forthcoming Clubland. Oh yes, Dolby Surroundsound.