is the new project from , the perennial Los Angeles hangabout who in the past was responsible for a host of knob-twiddling jobs ( , , etc.), as well as , and the cheeky 1996 cover band experiment . 's eponymous debut finds revisiting the lurch of his material, albeit with a newly honed twinge that masks the fact that he still sounds a whole lot like opens the festivities, re-introducing the dully processed guitar sound that permeated 's 1994 effort, . But where that album played up jagged histrionics, lets its hooks unfold more slowly, as on the spidery chug of or which sounds like something might write if he were angrier and had a fetish for -style . Elsewhere, the formulaic lyrics and pacing of are saved by some cool drum programming and an insistently twisting lead guitar line, while is an amped-up run through vintage Alternative Nation riffing. But while these sounds offer a few enjoyable highs, the majority of just doesn't make much of a dent. Tracks like -- even the acoustic and strings departure of -- are well-crafted nuggets of modern . But there isn't enough of a real band inside these shells of songs, and you just get the impression that this sort of thing is pretty easy for these guys to crank out. Vaguely acerbic lyrics, obliquely fashionable references to drug use, articulated sweeps of anthemic guitar, and choruses you sing along with because you realize you've heard it all before -- this is what you'll find down 's rabbit hole. ~ Johnny Loftus