Rhume's Snack of Choice, though recorded on digital 8-track, has a decidedly lo-fi feel to it. It draws instant comparison to Kleenex Girl Wonder or the Apples in Stereo, but with no trace of clever lyrics. All the tenets of lo-fi are there: generic, tinny electric guitar, jangly acoustic guitar, muffled vocals, and slightly offbeat drumming. Missing, however, is the one thing that makes lo-fi listenable: the hooks. Whereas a band like Guided by Voices could cram at least three brilliant hooks into a one-minute song in their heyday, it takes Rhume three minutes to find just one. Needless to say, this doesn't do much to sustain interest.

Snack of Choice's opening track, "The Boisterous Reunion," sounds like it could have been recorded by any of the plethora of Beatles-worshipping Elephant 6 bands, with its gentle acoustic plucking and occasional trumpet blasts. The record's title track, a museum piece of lo-fi music, is two and a half minutes of bouncy riffage, a garbled voice singing simplistic lyrics, and fuzzy, semi-competent soloing. From that point on, it's another half an hour of songs that sound either like the Apples or GBV, but never as good.

But for such a generally uniform album, Snack of Choice isn't without its extreme highs and lows. "Planting '96" utilizes pretty multi-tracked acoustic guitars to achieve a sound reminiscent of the Essex Green. "Caterpillar Moonbeam," possibly the album's finest moment, features a cool, shaky guitar solo, and a highly serviceable hook. Unfortunately, the greater part of the album is mediocre, devoid of strong melodies, and vastly overstays its welcome. The procession of mediocrity begins with the fifth track, "Capital," and culminates with a self-indulgent crescendo of poorly-arranged strings, backwards guitar, and keyboards at the end of "Surprising Upenders."

There are an awful lot of bands making this kind of music right now. And most of them are doing it better than Rhume. (By the time Snack of Choice is over, you'll be running to your Guided by Voices records like a moth to a flame.) Sure, Snack of Choice does have its decent moments. But when all is said and done, the record is bound to end up forgotten in the back of your cupboard, alongside the congealed chocolate pudding and year-old Cheetos.

-Matt LeMay