Hit Pick

Although they’ve played only a handful of gigs to date, the Cool-Rays, Saturday, September 16, at Seven South, with the Down-N-Outs, have nearly perfected a hard-rockin’ guitar-driven sound that’s chock-full of distortion, yet pleasant in a pop sort of way. With influences that include the Ramones, the Kinks, Iggy and the Stooges, and Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones, the Rays warp sounds of the past into their very own brand of American dirt rock. While lead singer and guitarist Andy Hunt, formerly of Twice Wilted, croons tunes about the basics known to all of mankind -- girls, heartbreak, anger, lust, sex and drinking -- the band also manages to raise the intellect meter by slipping in the occasional literary or historical reference. Phoebe,: a variant on the can’t-stand-to-see-you-with-another-guy: song, alludes to Catcher in the Rye; Marlene,: a tune about wanting to meet a diva, pays homage to the ever-elusive screen siren Marlene Dietrich. And lest you think these boys are oh-so-serious as they inspire a frenetic sort of energy, they’ve even been known to do the occasional ABBA cover. So when you’re near them, darlin’, please come hear them, S.O.S.