Posted on Fri, Jun 13, 2008 Quality efforts from locals and nationals alike By Patrick Ferrucci, New Haven Register Entertainment Editor The Peacock Flounders — “Hello Beautiful” (Thin Man Music): Riding a lead-guitar riff very similar to Social Distortion’s “I Was Wrong,” The Peacock Flounders’ “Apple Trees” is an urgent rock song, one that highlights the 10-tune effort that is “Hello Beautiful,” a stellar record from the New Haven quartet. Featuring Kerry Miller, Ron Sutfin, Peter Krol and Sal Paradise, The Peacock Flounders brings a ton of experience to this record, years and years of working in such seminal local bands as Miracle Legion, Valley of Kings, The Swaggerts and more. The music is closer to Big Star than any of those other groups though, with Miller’s tunes providing a more melodic counterpoint to Sutfin’s amped-up, punk-inspired songs. The disc leads off with the title track, a dense, guitar-driven, rootsy song featuring Miller’s plaintive vocals. Rarely do the guys move outside of its powerful two-guitar, bass and drums backbone, but “Lemon and a Lime” adds a little synth into the mix. And by keeping this simple, there are very few missteps on “Hello Beautiful.” The jangley, old R.E.M.-like “In the Inside” will have you singing along by its conclusion, while “Oh So Easy” sucks listeners in with an off-kilter lead guitar line and the oddly placed lap-steel. It’s a mess of tune, but it works beautifully, from the multiple guitar tracks to the out-of-n