Pink, spunk, hair-gel, eyebrow-raising lyrics and distortion pedals: Welcome to Halocene’s The Secret. The band of five hails from Phoenix, and their résumé includes opening for Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, Anberlin and Slightly Stoopid and working with Hot Topic.

The Secret sounds just about exactly like what you’d expect from that background.

Lead singer Addie Nicole carries the vocals on each and every song, belting out tunes about love, heartbreak, ambition and, well, secrets. In fact, none of the other band members make any vocal appearance whatsoever. Nicole harmonizes with herself in at least a few bars of every track, giving the impression that someone sugarcoated a band like Garbage or No Doubt to get rid of the edge and added a few more digital elements.

The band has a lot of heart, but the song lyrics make it unclear if they had looked to Alanis Morissette for a definition of the word “”ironic.”” Lines like “”Please be my addiction / ‘cause I can’t let you go”” beg for more sensible editing. The songs’s styles are just as juxtaposed. They vacillate between digitized, warped and Autotuned newer sounds and the distortion-heavy, grunge-punk guitar riffs we all heard too much of in the late ’90s.

Not everything about the CD is indigestible, however. “”Rumble”” is a high-energy song without an identity crisis to be found and is definitely worth a listen. It’s apparent they’re a band who’s trying to make it, and that alone allows for a certain amount of forgiveness and respect.

Overall, enthusiasm is what will get this band through if anything will. They’re unsigned but motivated, and there’s a niche for their quirky blend of fresh bubblegum breath and brashness somewhere. In concert, I bet it’d be a spectacle worth watching.

Score: C