If punk is really dead like some people say, then it's the most flogged horse's corpse in the history of the world. I'm willing to support the opposite theory that punk is, in fact, alive and kicking, but I have to tack on an addendum-- naturally, in the form the critic's favorite device, the analogy: punk is like a comedian with one routine. The first time you hear it, it's crazily entertaining; the second time less so; and by the umpteenth zillionth time you've heard, it's utterly stale and totally annoying.

For all intents and purposes, American Steel are a punk band. Don't let the black-and-white photo of an acoustic guitar on the album cover fool you; there's nothing acoustic about the guitars these guys play. American Steel do not play pure, walloping punk (few bands really do) as much as they create a grotesque amalgam of past punk-related styles. There's second-hand ska in "Two Crooks," emo flourishes just about everywhere, and a tendency toward incredibly deep, guttural guitar tones culled from the hardcore scene. And the centerpiece of it all is the tortured voice of Ruauri, who apparently has no last name, as all attempts to research it bore no fruit.

Ruauri's voice is really like no other, though it seems obvious that he's listened to Joe Strummer's bizarre wail a few times. You'll likely be able to locate a few distinct syllables strewn amongst his various moans and screams, and occasionally, whole words, or even whole lines will stand out. But mostly, it's just the sound of a caterwauling mammal looking for a mate, or trying to find the key that the instruments are playing in.

For choruses, American Steel revert to the tried and true herding instinct, here applied as: "If we all yell at the same time, one of us might hit the target note." Sometimes they do, but it fails to result in a single memorable chorus. It takes a few times through to realize that they're not saying, "Debbie works for all of us," in the opener, "Shrapnel." Luckily, they repeat the chorus five times in the song, so it gradually becomes clear that they're just whipping out bullshit like, "Jagged thoughts are all I've heard/ Spitting shards of vitriol/ Jagged thoughts are all I've got/ Shredding my soul/ Shrapnel!" Apparently, all those jagged thoughts have cut to tattered shreds the parts of Ruauri's brain that allow him to form recognizable words. The partially harmonized guitar solo and lethargic tempo drag the song kicking and screaming back to the 70's, and evoke the exact music that original punks rebelled against.

"New Religion Every Day" follows, offering no melody in the verse, but plenty of group shouting in the chorus. The song initially evaded my radar more subtly than a Stealth bomber in Iraq, and when I finally forced myself to pay attention to it, I was struck only by its banality. "Rainy Day" is supposed to be the power ballad, I think, but it has no melody-- only that same old tuneless wailing. The completely unintelligible vocals don't help elaborate on the themes much, either.

"There's a New Life" finally kicks in the punk energy, and it works a little better than its predecessors as a result. It's also the shortest offering here, which scores it automatic points. It's followed by "Lonely All the Time," which seems to aspire toward traditional rock and roll, employing a barnacle-encrusted chord progression and a cute little organ to remind you of how quaint the song is. "Maria" attempts roughly the same thing, with equally unimpressive results. Ruauri mangles some little Mick Jagger vocal moves as the band establishes the molasses tempo, and the listless verses are almost completely unintelligible. The overused chords and annoying organ add to the overall impression that American Steel are attempting to morph into Bruce Springsteen, but instead of the punk Nebraska, we get the whole herd yelling, "Maria, the moment is right!" and a second-rate "Born to Run" theme.

The album's second half is better than the first, but not by much. "Time Gone By" is under two minutes of mediocre punk. "Turn It Out" overcomes its indiscernible verse with a decent, throwaway chorus, and the band sounds confident revisiting the ska-punk of their first two albums on "Two Crooks." Bassist John A. pulls out some impressive licks for "Wake Up Alone," but they're lost in producer/engineer Kevin Army's trebly sonic soup. After the decidedly un-punk sentiment of "I Don't Mind," Jagged Thoughts stumbles to a close with the crusty progressions and abortive back-up harmonies of "Day to Night (Like a Hint)." The chorus is actually the least memorable part, which kind of defeats the purpose of even having a chorus.

The sad truth of the whole matter is that American Steel seem to make a genuine attempt to broaden their sound on Jagged Thoughts, and they completely fail. The best moments, if they exist, are the throwbacks to their earlier work-- the rough punk and the pilfered ska. All the noodly guitars and boring verses ultimately add up to something akin to a singed, one-eyed teddy bear: easy to pity, but hard to love.

-Joe Tangari