Remember when alternative rock was supposed to be a good thing? The Verve Pipe do. On the first single, ''Hero,'' from their new self-titled album, the quintet concocts an old-fashioned alt-rock cocktail, combining juiced-up guitars with sweet harmonies and a lyric that strikes just the right note of bruised humility (''I'm just a jerk but a hero's what I wanna be''). This is sure to take you back to those halcyon days of 1996. B+


Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.