Anyone who has seen Conan O'Brien in recent years has probably seen the skit "If They Mated." Basically Conan takes two photos of celebrities who have somehow been linked in the media, and blends them to give a composite of what their future child may look like. Hilarity ensues. Listening to We Ragazzi is like playing an aural version of "If They Mated." Tony Rolando 's pipes are clearly the creation of a vocal tryst between Billy Corgan and Mick Jagger. Rolando's voice aside, thankfully We Ragazzi's music has more of the swagger of the Stones than the directionless angst of the Pumpkins.

A little research and the glories of the internet led me to turn up these fun facts about the band:

1. They formed in Chicago in 1997, and are known for their live shows

2. Ragazzi is Italian for "boys" or "guys"

3. Their domain name, weraggazi.com, has been sold and is now available

Okay, so for point one - the Chicago might not be self evident. "Let's Be Wolves and Leave" talks about escaping NYC, but the following track, "I'm Gonna Be Fine" uses Chicago as a motif. The placement of these tracks and their topics seem to focus on the tension the band faces, pulled between the artifice of the NYC music scene and the blood and marrow of Chicago. Through their blues influences, We Raggazi displays "the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth," as Sandburg says of Chicago. Through the No Wave aspects of their music we find the connection to Manhattan. Between the two is an unbearable tension of unrepentant soul-revealing and artistic posturing.

Though their live show may be fun, this album does not convey the energy that a live show undoubtedly would. Rolando's voice becomes a bit tiring at times, and the lyrics are hard to follow, but are well complimented by the yowling guitar. The steady, almost march-like drum thwats of Alianna Kalaba serve to drive the songs forward. Ultimately it is the discordant piano work of Colleen Burke that glues the various disparate elements of song together into a unified whole. Wolves With Pretty Lips is an album that will sneak up on you with its brilliance, if only Rolando would vary his nasally sneer . . .