Friday, June 25, 2010; WE07

THE JET AGE

"In 'Love' ''

Kindred spirits: The Wedding Present, the Clean, the Who

Show: With the Electricutions on Wednesday at the Black Cat. Show starts at 9 p.m. 202-667-4490. http://www.blackcatdc.com.

On its latest concept album, "In 'Love,' " the Jet Age imagines a romantic triangle that leads to deceit, recrimination and divorce. If that sounds a bit grim, the disc's lyric sheet seconds the impression. But this local trio is handy with sumptuous timbres and surging rhythms, so the 10 tunes are more upbeat than their subject matter. While mixing funk into its usual rhythm-guitar tempest, notably on the lustful "You Were Electrified," the musicians dash through sentiments that might cause less agile players to lose their stride.

There are three voices in the libretto -- husband, wife and lover -- but only one on most of the songs: singer, guitarist and principal composer Eric Tischler. A more rock-operatic approach would have enlisted female vocalists for numbers such as "Your New Life Awaits You," in which the wife dismisses her unfaithful spouse with "Why would I keep you?"

Instead of using guest performers, the band varies the menu with guitar tones. The styles range from classic-rock swagger to indie-pop jangle and woozy "shoegaze" din, with a twist of jazz in "I Don't Care How You Feel Anymore." Tischler's (non-autobiographical) saga of infidelity is the album's text, but the Jet Age's ecstatic roar is the real story.

-- Mark Jenkins