Salt (1995), was produced by Steve Albini. The idea was to match this highly hyped garage band with a producer known for keeping records in the garage – someone who could cultivate the band's untapped ferocity. The result: On the surface, Albini's production was harder hitting, but he couldn't disguise the band's undeveloped skills, and Veruca Salt's pummel came off as little more than a pose.

Now producer Bob Rock has come to the rescue. Rock is known for his big, professional productions with everyone from Motley Crue to Metallica; the idea, one might guess, is that he is here to bolster Veruca Salt's sound for the larges-cale arenas where so many "alternative" bands find themselves onstage.

The problem is, we still don't know who Veruca Salt are. Borrowing from others is a Veruca Salt pastime. They nicked their first album's title from an AC/DC song, and now they've grabbed the original working title of the Beatles' film Help! for their second LP. These acts of rock & roll faith might seem more charitable and less calculated if the band's music could silence its critics.

Eight Arms to Hold You, however, is an uninspired offering. Producer Rock gives the drums snap and the guitars bite, but the band's songwriting is a toothless affair, and the singing is unengaging. The songs are bland, quasi-metallic exercises that border on tunelessness, sung by Louise Post and Nina Gordon in unflattering monotones. Banal harmonies added for sweetening, only contribute to the generic presentation.

As we all know, Andy Warhol claimed that everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. Warhol was being generous. If he'd thought about it more, he'd have given out no more than three and a half. (RS 754)

ROB O'CONNOR