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Man alive, were the last two years good musically. That is, so long as while glancing into the rearview mirror you concentrate on the lovely landmarks that were Britain's contributions to pop and ignore the potholes that were Better Than Ezra, Hootie And The Blowfish and Silverchair.

To be completely fair, though, we did hit a few as Union Jacks flew by the roadside; exhibit No. 1: Bush. Another was Shed Seven. Supposing it's to be expected that with every good bunch comes a rotten apple or two, one of those wormy fruits would have to be "Change Giver."

Because Britpop did overextend itself, creating a scene in which the music did not always remain the focus, Shed Seven's debut does not float. Take for instance, the over-the-top vocals. As Brett Suede and Damon Blur have proven time and time again, they can be miles more impressive than any low-in-the-mix mumbling, provided that there are some clever lyrics and half-a-tune to back them up.

What we find singer Rick Witter doing here is more akin to Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face." Take away the band waffling between the least memorable of Cult and Chili Pepper riffs and you have some singing that would get your uncle ejected from Thanksgiving dinner. That is, if he had the gall to warble a chorus as embarrassing as "Dirty Soul": "You know a good thing/When you've got one/I've got a good thing/Do you want one?" These lines, along with the overabundance of aquamarine references of "Dolphin" and "Ocean Pie," among other things, indicate that Shed Seven will have to make some significant strides to run with the likes of Oasis, Radiohead and Supergrass.