Daily Variety April 14, 1993 Wednesday SECTION: REVIEW LENGTH: 297 words HEADLINE: Superchunk; Rocket From the Crypt (The Palace; 1,200 capacity; $ 15) BYLINE: John Carmen BODY: Promoted by GoldenVoice. Bands: Superchunk: Mack, Laura, John, Jim; Rocket From the Crypt: Atom, Apollo 9, Tetey X., Speedo, N.D. Reviewed April 9, 1993. Don't believe the hype. Please don't believe the hype. The headliners of last Friday's super-alternative bash here, Superchunk and Rocket From the Crypt, are definitely flavor-of-the-month material. Both have risen from little indies -- Superchunk from Matador to Matador/Atlantic, Rocket from San Diego's Cargo onto Interscope, allegedly for an advance of $ 1 million -- but both are very much in the right place at the right time. Rocket From the Crypt is on a noisy post-Husker Du trip featuring two lead guitars, while Superchunk, displaying pop melodies over its noise and a female bassist, seems ready to step into the breach left by the late Pixies. Neither, though, lived up to the fawning raves they've received from such oracles as Spin magazine or MTV's "120 Minutes." Perhaps it was the wretched mix at the Palace, but Superchunk's poppy assault was pea-soup city, rendering each song indecipherable. They're full-barrel raunch, but the quartet could have been anybody, anywhere, in any garage. Rocket From the Crypt was more polished, more metal and, with the addition of an inaudible sax player, arty. But other than one song about the joys of killing, they were a hookless stew, and not much to look at either. One might say that Rocket From the Crypt is the lucky beneficiary of Pearl Jam or Nirvana's success. Roaring out of the gate with a full head of steam, Rocket couldn't keep up the energy, by dint of the fact that all the feedback in the world can't make up for slight songwriting. Still, their debut on Interscope could still prove to be very interesting if they find a savvy producer.