Hope

self-released

The New York-based trio take a stab at what's known these days as "alternative rock," a definition set aside specifically for that genre of music that doesn't sound like "classic rock," yet is friendly enough to sit nicely alongside fop by crap bands like Limp Bizkit or Creed or Godsmack. Translated: This is pretty boring, though well-performed, stuff that will appeal to those who enjoy Stone Temple Pilots, Stain'd or whomever they're playing on your local version of K-Rock.

The band owes a great debt to STP and Soundgarden, but obviously lacks those bands' innovations. More disheartening is how they take the beginnings of songs made famous by other bands and seem to copy them note for note. Turn it into a drinking game at your next party. "Anybody Jane?" cranks open like the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks chest-pounder "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." "Living in a Satellite" opens like R.E.M.'s "Texarkana." And so on. This is unfortunate, especially in the last case, where the song shifts into an obvious John Mellencamp homage.

Okay, so we've established that Alien Life isn't exactly trying to invent a new sound. If their goal is to turn the ear of a national radio programmer, they might succeed since nothing sells like familiarity with the great unwashed masses. For the rest of us, it's the same ol' thing.