Jamming Against the Tide

By DAVID ELLIS

The ad in Billboard certainly was mysterious: the simple, unexplained declaration "Keep Music Evil" on last week's front page raised more than a few eyebrows. The slogan represents the philosophy of the FATIMA MANSIONS, an Irish band that has just released its U.S. debut disk Viva Dead Ponies. According to lead singer Cathal Coughlan, the group hopes to capture rock's old outlaw image by overthrowing the sugarcoated commercialism prevalent on the pop charts today. To promote that "mission," the album dissects a British society rife with "squalid poverty where the poor prey on the even poorer," says Coughlan. Included on the album are the songs Ceausescu Flashback; Look What I Stole for Us, Darling; and More Smack, Vicar.

With reporting by DANIEL S. LEVY