With their second album Rock Crown, Seven Mary Three became ambitious, deciding that they wanted to tap into the American angst and disillusionment that fueled the best work of Bruce Springsteen.

Musically, the group still comes off as a horrid cross between Pearl Jam and Grand Funk Railroad -- it's alternative boogie rock, as if Foghat were reborn as a post-grunge band, only with heavier guitars.

Much heavier guitars, actually.

Seven Mary Three are a post-grunge band only in the sense that they want to talk about big, serious issues but can't escape their arena rock roots.

Unfortunately, they have no gift of riff; in the words of their breakthrough single, they are cumbersome, lumbering along with weighty, unfunky rhythms and clunky chords.

There are a couple of glimpses that the band could develop their own voice on Rock Crown, but the album in general finds Seven Mary Three floundering.