On its 1998 platinum debut album and the new Horrorscope, the California trio Eve 6 has provided a welcome reminder of how much can be accomplished with a three-minute pop song.

The group -- whose drummer, Tony Fagenson, is the son of record producer Don Was -- fills the dozen hooky songs on its sophomore outing with fully realized tales of loves lost and gained, along with the occasional sidestep into scene-setting narrative ("Sunset Strip Bitch") and psycho-nocturnal expressionism ("Nightmare"). And the romances never come easy; many are along the lines of the object of singer-bassist Max Collins' potential affections in "Jet Pack," whom he finds "stepping on the back of my shoes/using me as a muse" and seemingly ready to use the jet pack to blast her way out of the relationship.

But if Eve 6 has some trouble getting girls, it has far less trouble with the songs, each of which is tightly crafted and arranged to great dynamic effect by the group and producer Don Gilmore. "Rescue"'s ringing guitars usher in a dance groove reminiscent of vintage Duran Duran, while the genial prettiness of "Here's to the Night" is underscored by subtly deployed strings. Clickety, guitar-driven rockers dominate -- including "Nocturnal," "Enemy," and "On the Roof Again" -- but even the hardest among them flaunt the melodic strength that's Eve 6's calling card. This is one Horrorscope that predicts good things, now and on the horizon.