TOM GRUNING—Midnight Lullabye (Inner City):: The first impression of this debut is of a poor man�s Tom Waits (is that redundant or what?) but the resemblance is superficial— Gruning is more of a straight ahead jazz singer than Waits, but a less compelling personality. His melodies and accompaniments aren�t as slickly tough, which could be considered a plus, and his delivery, as befitting a Texan, is more folksy than desperate (Inspirational Rhyme: �Got a six day job in a shipping yard/Don�t make much money, but I sure get tired�). Comparisons aside, a lot of it�s just plain jive, but then that�s the point, no? Still, he shouldn�t have allowed the liner notes to say �He�s not an oppressed minority or an alcoholic...Tom wants to make a living in his corduroys and not have to lift anything heavy.� Failed irony�s never won fair criticism.R.C.W.

THE LORDZ—You & Me Are Rockers (World Sound):; Remember way back when the Ramones were laying around Joey�s moldy rumpus room, trying to master the. chordal intricacies of the latest metallic wowsers, and they couldn�t, so they decided to write their own carbona-not-glue blitzkrieg boppers? The rest is transcendent history, etc., right now let�s dig Detroit�s young Lordz, who positively ache to emulate the heroin & sportscars sonic thunderbolts their big-city brothers in the MC5 used to shoot out. But the Lordz are still rather raw draftees into the guitar army, and this debut LP comes out less slab metal than metallic-flavored powerpop, which manages to defy all the categories us critics keep foisting on you innocents. Shopping-mall agitprop master, at least, get this wonderful press clippings from their publicity kit: �The Lordz will entertain in a benefit concert at 2 p.m. on Halloween at the Sears wall by the fountain in the center of Livonia Mall. Donations will be accepted, with proceeds going to the Burned Children organization.� My kinda band! (Yours, too, at P.O. Box 35378, Detroit, MI 48235) R.R.