Mr. Smith goes solo
	Johnny Marr puts his name above the title by MATT ASHARE

Poe-try in motion Lou Reed's The Raven by JEFF OUSBORNE

Local Anesthesia: Consolation prize Ricky Valente grows up by BOB GULLA

You've heard about Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz, but have you heard the one about Rush's 2112 and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? We suspect the kids in the emopop band Mae have: the first song on their Destination: Beautiful (Tooth & Nail) sounds suspiciously like "Pure Imagination" crossed with "A Passage to Bangkok," only way catchier. Like their former labelmates Juliana Theory, Mae are proof of how Dawson's Creek collapsed the chasm between the Justin Timberlakes and the Dashboard Confessionals of the world: the guitar player has heard a few Elliott records, but the singer's elocution sounds like the product of spinning early Michael Jackson in heavy rotation with U2 and the Smiths. And the production, just shy of orchestral, doesn't shy away from the polyurethane comfort zones of soft rock. Track 'em down at the Hawk's Nest (860-768-7800) in West Hartford on Monday and at the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on Tuesday.

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