'Want' Lads

BAND NAME Vertical Horizon
LATEST ALBUM Everything You Want
WHY YOU'VE NOTICED THEM Their catchy smash single, ''Everything You Want''
HOW THEY'D DESCRIBE THEIR SOUND IF THEY WERE MUSIC CRITICS ''A song-based, modern-rock pop band with a strong focus on lyrics and harmonies as well as tight band and vocal performances,'' says frontman Matt Scannell (the others are guitarist Keith Kane, bassist Sean Hurley, and drummer Ed Toth). ''We draw heavily from the great pop songwriters, from the Beatles to bands like Live and matchbox twenty.''
HOW WE DESCRIBE THEIR SOUND Give that man a job as a music critic!
TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC You know that guy down the hall who was the first in the dorm to discover Third Eye Blind? His girlfriend.
FASHION SENSE Stephan Jenkins on a budget
TRIUMPHANT TALE OF HOW THEY BEAT THE ODDS Formed in Washington, D.C., in 1991, the band built up a huge regional following, selling 70,000 copies of their three indie albums. ''It was perseverance,'' says Scannell. ''We just kept at it. But the most important thing is learning how to write a good song, and I think I did that on this record. I'm very proud of it. But there's still a long way to go, and I'm just trying to get better as we move forward.''
IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST CEREAL THEY WOULD BE Raisin Bland
STOCK QUOTE ON THE PITFALLS OF FAME ''There are thousands of musicians who'd love to take my place, so it's not really fair for me to complain,'' says Scannell. ''But one thing that's not so good is that we're always on the move, we're always going, and over time that can wear you down a bit.''
LEAD SINGER'S INSTANT CHARISMA RATING (out of a possible 5) 3
FUNKY FACT ''I'm obsessively into cleansing my body and having a neat space,'' says Scannell. ''Being on the road is so tough because there's just s— — — everywhere. We know each other way too well.''
ALBUMS THAT NEVER LEAVE THEIR TAPE PLAYER Sting's The Soul Cages, U2's Achtung Baby, Rush's Moving Pictures, Peter Gabriel's So
WHAT'S NEXT A new single, ''You're a God,'' and a tour opening for — you guessed it — Third Eye Blind.