Is it a hit, *hit or miss?

S.T.U.N. - Evolution Of Energy by Dan Grote

S.T.U.N. - Evolution Of Energy 
Label: Geffen Records
Hit, *hit or Miss?:  Hit
Rating: 

Some sample lyrics from S.T.U.N.�s major-label debut:

�We are just a moment away!� (from �Movement�) � from what?

�What do you do when it comes for you?� (from �Annihilation of the Generations�) � when what comes for me?

�Our time is finally here, the new visions are clear� (from �Boredom�� what are these visions?

Okay, so something�s out to get me, and there�s going to be a rebellion against it. Can you give any specifics, sirs? No? Hmm�

It�s very easy to write S.T.U.N. (short for Scream Towards the Uprising of Non-conformity � is that even a cogent sentence?) off as they next great rebellious punk act with their quasi-politically charged agro-rock. But if you notice, for all their talk of revolution and �the space between our minds has been corrupted,� there�s no real discussion of what�s wrong or how to fix it. And in an age where kids� idea of protest music is Rage against the Machine and System of a Down�s scaring us with talk of building a giant �prison for you and me,� S.T.U.N.�s act comes off more like hard-core punk nostalgia than revolution rock, and even then, it can�t be too much like hard-core punk because the lyrics are pretty decipherable.

Don�t get the wrong idea, Evolution of Energy rocks. You can crank this and dream about fashioning yourself a mohawk and perpetually sneering, but if they�re not talking about some kind of broadly-defined underground movement, they�re actually off hugging trees, especially on songs like �Here Comes the Underground� wherein frontman Neil Spies warbles �the only solution is piece for everyone� and, on �Love and Chaos,� �Can you see love taking over the world?�

VERDICT: There�s a scene in High Fidelity where John Cusack�s character mockingly asks Jack Black�s �Oh, and what are your influences, Nirvana, the Sex Pistols?� And perhaps that�s because it�s easy to be influenced by seminal bands and to claim them as influences, especially if your lyrics and instruments are nothing but note-for-note homages. A perusal of the band�s bio almost immediately claims the Clash and the Pistols in their personal pantheon (along with Jane�s Addiction, oddly enough). And while they sure are screaming enough about the corruption of the youth; they�re hardly the new Only Band That Matters. S.T.U.N. certainly deserve more than an E for Effort, but if they�re such society-hating rebels, then why is there a notice on my copy that says I can�t play it in my computer? There�s certainly nothing revolutionary about copy protection.