Sampling orch-pop superstar Burt Bacharach on multiple tracks, Alpha come through like a rainy day, creating ambient, easy- listening textures as smooth and silky as a bar of white chocolate. The sound throughout Come from Heaven, their debut release on Massive Attack's Melankolic label, is decidedly somber, with minimalist, electronic bass and snare drums to keep time.

Alpha, while appearing like a slightly less diverse (and more melodic) Massive Attack, manages to land some truly inspiring numbers along with a couple of downright abysmal ones along the way. Some of the better tracks include the gloomy "Nyquil," whose eerie, trip-hop shadows feel more paranoid than plain old gloomy; "Slim" has an atmosphere straight out of a 1920s speakeasy bar; "Firefly" sounds like one of the something off Mark Eitzel's 60 Watt Silver Lining.

Though Alpha do have moments of originality, Come from Heaven more frequently shows off the band's tendency to blatantly steal from other acts (in some cases, Alpha manage to sound almost exactly like Portishead and big cheeses Massive Attack). Alpha's future releases could prove them more mature and capable of borrowing ideas more subtly than on Come from Heaven. For now, they aren't breaking any new ground.

-Ryan Schreiber