Pop and Jazz Reviews : Bragg Takes the Bland Middle Ground

British broadsider Billy Bragg’s continuing bid to be the bard of the common person has hit a common roadblock: As the unabashed leftist tries to broaden his audience, he’s taken on a middle-ground, folk-rock sound that, as delivered by his new band the Red Stars at the Wiltern Theatre on Tuesday, is a bit bland.

Bragg seemed to think the move was a big deal, joking about being tossed out of the Folk Musicians’ Union.

But the truth was that the most effective moments in the show came when he did it his old way: alone with an electric guitar, his EastEnder accent and often self-deprecating wit.

The big problem is Bragg doesn’t give his audience much credit. Though his political songs come only in black and white (and red all over), he insisted on lecturing his receptive fans, not trusting them to come to their own conclusions.

The irony is that he’s perfectly content to let his nonpolitical songs--which explore the murkier complexities of romance--speak for themselves, and they do quite nicely, thank you.

Those complexities--of life, not just love--are the currency of the second-billed American Music Club’s Mark Eitzel.

With Eitzel bleakly intense in song but amusing and friendly between songs, the San Francisco quintet came off like a ‘90s alternative- Angst blend of Gram Parsons and Leonard Cohen.