Kevin Bronson on September 2nd, 2014

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Eighteen months after their audacious debut “Bite the Bullet,” L.A. quartet Black Hi-Lighter return next week with a second full-length, “Looks and Lies” – another record that feels like it’s part of rock ’n’ roll history although most of rock ’n’ roll history has already been written. The work of singer-guitarist James Poulos, guitarist-producer Eric Liljestrand, drummer Mark Reback and bassist David Wright, “Looks and Lies” springs from the Bowie/T. Rex family tree, and, owing to Liljestrand’s shredding, posits the foursome as a band who could’ve held their own with L.A. Guns back in the day. Included are the four singles BHL released between albums – “NU4NYC” (No Use for New York City), “Blackout,” “Plastic Flowers” and “I Got Tired (It Hurt So Bad),” which find vocalist Poulos darting between his best glam falsetto and a properly insolent punk snarl. Curiously, “Looks and Lies” (out Sept. 9) comes with “secret spy code instructions” – you’ll need the cipher to decrypt, and we’ve put our best agents to work on it. Meanwhile, Black Hi-Lighter indulge their artier side on the album’s opening track, with its Wordsworth-inspired title “Clear Blue Heaven.” Rock isn’t dead; it’s up there somewhere.

||| Stream: “Clear Blue Heaven”

||| Live: Black Hi-Lighter celebrates its album release Sept. 13 at El Cid.

||| Previously: “NU4NYC”