Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus, a striking debut conjures up a musical place where rock, country, post-grunge, and folk converge. Singer-songwriter Jesse Rhodes finds a keen, memorable balance between the quirky pop hook of ''Candy,'' the naturalism of ''Trees,'' the punk punch of ''Go-Cart Man,'' and the twang of ''Long Way to Fresno.'' He coos and hollers, deftly mixes acoustic and electric guitars, and leaves us with a literal purring sensation at the end. B+