Frank Black may have had the sci-fi writer Bradbury in mind with his Cult of Ray, but this retrofitted band of Moddish ’60s garage-rockers are clearly thinking of a more musical Ray, as in Davies of the Kinks, on Day of the Ray. The backbeats are generally hard, the riffs are mostly memorable, and tongue is always planted firmly in cheek throughout the disc, which brings the familiar sounds of cheesy Vox-organ chords, dirty guitars, and tambourine flourishes into the modern Dandy Warhols world by injecting a heavy dose of cool, irony-laden detachment. Frontman John Dufilho also brings to mind Fountains of Wayne, another band whose ’60s fix is moderated by a more contemporary indie sensibility, in his tone and his attitude. His angst is that of the cigarette-smoking high-school outsider who pines for a prom date behind a façade of cool apathy. Everything from the band name to the song titles ("She Can Play Me like a Drum Machine," "It’s Hard To Run Uphill on Stilts") has the ring of an inside joke. Sure, it’s a little juvenile. But so is high school.

(Deathray Davies perform this Wednesday, March 27, at T.T. the Bear’s Place. Call 617-492-BEAR.)