The name of this band tells you a lot. It tells you that these are a no- nonsense bunch of guys who don't feel they need a "cute" name to make themselves stand out. It tells you that one of them is named Karl Hendricks. It tells you that they are three. All true. (Unlike that lying sumbitch Ben Folds, but that's another story.) Also true is that they hail from Pittsburgh and have been recording together since 1991 (a half- dozen 7-inches and three previous albums.) And now comes Declare Your Weapons, an album solid as Pittsburgh steel.

Karl Hendricks' stated ambition is "to play loud rock music and touch people's hearts." Well, the guitar certainly has that pleasing Nestle' Crunch, and now and again you can feel someone massaging the old ticker. What makes the Karl Hendricks Trio stand out is not the sound (if you've listened to Husker Du, you've heard it before) but the funny and incisive lyrics. Just run down the song titles: "Know More About Jazz", "Your Lesbian Friends", and "When Will the Goddamn Poor Wise Up?" And beyond each title lies a cupboard stocked with biting one-liners.

The uptempo songs are stronger. "A Letter to the Coach" is funny, catchy, smart, driving and memorable in just over two and a half minutes, while "The Colonel Feels All Right" clocks in at 8:14 and flows like a river of silly puddy. Other standouts are "Like John Travolta" and "Surrender on Demand." At times, there's a certain sameness to the sound, (every rocker starts with the same kick-drum/ rim-shot intro) but when you add it up, it equals intelligent, honest rock and roll from the most livable city in America.

-Mark Richard-San