Matthew Moon

Aurora native Matthew Moon does the best with what he has: an artlessy sincere voice and a knack for writing songs that flirt convincingly with mainstream FM rotation. Having slugged it out in sports bars and ski resorts, Moon sure knows his way around the jagged side of a blown relationship -- especially if your idea of absolute heartache is running out of pot while needing to move back in with your parents. "My dad just bailed me out again," Moon sings on "Gonna Ride," but you get the feeling that any father/son tension should blow over once the chore jar is half empty. Then it's time to hit the slopes again, baby -- and thrash!

Less troubled jailbird than beautiful loser, Moon preoccupies himself with girls, wanderlust, girls, youthful kicks, girls and whether or not he's losing his mind. Otherwise, this genial Counting Crows knockoff goes for Betties who board rather than ski. He's choosy, you see. At his most tunefully compelling, Moon plunders "Mustang Sally," adding Beatles harmonies either for the sake of nostalgia or out of pure laziness ("Disco Gold"). When that gets too daring, he reworks "I Fought the Law" as a mopey sea chantey for Front Range tastemakers ("Heartland").

Yawnarooney.

Didn't Big Head Todd already put Colorado on the map for boring electric folk rock? (See www.matthewmoon.com.)