By ELIOT WILDER / The perfect recipe for a modern rock band? Blend generous portions fizzy female Go-Go's pop, spoon on a healthy dollop Patti Smith street smarts, fold in ample amounts smoldering Courtney Love carnality and add a dash Luscious Jackson left-field wit. Stir it up, then grease your pan, pop it in the oven and turn up the heat. Voila! Ultrababyfat.

But this Atlanta-based quartet is more than the slam-bang sum of its tantalizing parts. As with another fab foursome of years gone by, Ultrababyfat takes only the best ingredients and yields a musical stew that spices up pop music's oft-bland menu with twisty new flavors.

Ultrababyfat is a love's labor of the band's tight-knit songwriters, Michelle DuBois and Shonali Bhowmik, childhood pals from Nashville who got their starts playing violin together in fourth grade. Both share a fiery determination and a love of diverse music - from Peaches & Herb and Stevie Wonder to R.E.M. and the Beatles. "Growing up, Michelle and I listened to everything," said guitarist and singer Bhowmik, whose ebullient laugh and enthusiasm are downright catching. "My family had a lot of Indian music in the house. Michelle's parents worked in the country music industry, and they had all this authentic country music on. But Beatles records were our bonding point."

Another "B" band made quite an impression on the young UBF, this one also hailing from the South. "Big Star has always been a huge influence on us," Bhowmik said. "One of the things we like about [Big Star singer and legend] Alex Chilton is that he writes about whatever's going on in his life. That showed us that you don't have to write about what everyone else is writing about; you can write about anything. We've been doing that since we were kids."

Growing up, Michelle and Shonali also shared a mutual respect as well as a passion to be in a rock band, something that has seemingly always been in the cards for this ultra-dynamic duo. "I never had a choice to do this," Bhowmik said. "It was always something that we did because we liked to do it. Early on Michelle and I started writing songs together, and in high school we did that instead of dating the football player. But it took us until we graduated from college to realize that, hey, we've been doing this all along - we can do this!"

With the help of a trusty Tascam four-track tape recorder, the pair began woodshedding tons of tunes for their as-yet-unnamed dream band. Post college Michelle and Shonali moved to California, where Bhowmik said, "We were surrounded by terrible band names." Not to be outdone, the twosome began to play around with what they considered goofy-sounding monikers. "Initially, I came up with Babyfat. We thought it was a funny name, but it also clicked perfectly with us." Unfortunately, the world had already made room for another Babyfat, whose cheesy music, Bhowmik said, "was the antithesis of ours." High-powered negotiations ensued (no doubt the kind where barrister Bhowmik could put her hard-earned law degree to use), but in the end Shonali resolved that "there's a bigger reason why this band that we think is the one of the most hysterical things ever has the same name as ours. So, we added the 'Ultra' and they never bothered again to talk to us."

With their name in place and a bass player and drummer on board (sometime Luna-tic Britta Phillips and Shane Sanders, respectively), UBF have proceeded to unleash two kick-ass rock 'n' roll records, the latest being "Eight Balls in Reverse." Among its many charms, the album shows off a unique symbiosis between its two principles born out of their lifelong friendship. "Michelle and I split the vocals on this record," Bhowmik said. "But the two of us sing so alike at times that even we forget who's singing what. Definitely there are songs that are just her brainchild and songs that came out of me, but there's probably a third that came out of both of us. But when we perform them they seem like both of us at the same time."

That spirit of sisterhood has allowed Michelle and Shonali a palpable sense of confidence and a freedom to follow their various muses and musics. "I have friends that need 15 different projects because they don't think any one project will do it for them," Bhowmik concludes. "But with Ultrababyfat, I feel like we can always do whatever we want to do."